


You Only Zing Once

by BelieveThat



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst, Cute Kids, Fluff and Smut, Hotel Transylvania Reference, M/M, Mild Language, Roman is the GREATEST friend ever, Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, ambrollins - Freeform, families, zing - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2019-08-06 04:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 114,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16381064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelieveThat/pseuds/BelieveThat
Summary: Just two adorable kids that form an instant friendship, with no idea that they'd bring their dads together too.





	1. Seth and Shortcake

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again!  
> Fun fact: I'm obsessed with Halloween.
> 
> Hopefully this will go over well, if you want me to continue to Halloween night, let me know. I kind of wanna see how it does first. 
> 
> There's a Hotel Transylvania reference (Yes, I'm obsessed with that too) If you're not super familiar with a ZING, you can watch the first 12 seconds here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKCYF_7s9o and imagine it being Dean and Seth. Or just know, that it only happens once in your life.

“Daddy…..Daddy…..Daddy wake up…..”

Seth groaned a little bit, as his 6 year old daughter’s sweet and innocent voice echoed in his head. Then came the poking. A poke to his ribs, a poke to his chest, and then his cheeks, “Daddy, it’s time for school!”

He couldn’t help smiling as he opened his eyes slowly, and his adorable Annabelle came into focus, “I don’t wanna go to school.” he teased.

“But daddy!” she exclaimed, launching herself on to him, “You have to go to school! You have to teach people and I have to go to school and learn stuff!” 

Seth chuckled, hugging onto her. He brushed a few strands of her long wavy dark hair back and smiled, “I’m up. Go get dressed, ok?”

She picked her head up, “I am dressed!” 

Seth looked down and examined her outfit. She had herself dressed in blue jeans and a Halloween Peppa Pig T-Shirt, “Oh,” he said, “How long have you been up?”

She shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Alright,” he smirked, “I gotta get a shower still.”

“Will you do my hair when you’re done?”

“Of course.”

“Can I watch TV while you’re getting ready?”

Seth sighed, trying to think about how much TV he had been letting her watch, “Yes. Just for a little bit ok?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, springing off the bed and right out the door.

“Excuse me!” he playfully yelled.

Footsteps immediately thumped back towards the room, Annabelle jumping back onto the bed. She climbed into his lap and gave him a hug, “I love you!”

“Love you too.”

 

After a quick shower and dressing at lightning speed, Seth made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He had no idea how Annabelle managed to wake up before him that morning, and it made him feel late. The fact was though, they were still early. 

“5 minutes!” Seth called into the living room, where Annabelle was glued to the TV.

“Ok! What are we having?” she called back.

“Waffles!” he answered with a smile, pulling them out of the freezer.

He tossed them into the toaster oven, then set out the plates and syrup. While they toasted, he walked down to the lower level and into his office. Packing up his laptop, notes, lesson plans and text books into his messenger bag, he threw it over his shoulder and retreated to the kitchen.

“Let’s go kiddo!” he called, hearing the waffles finish in the toaster.

“Ok!” Annabelle answered, turning off Peppa Pig and going into the kitchen.

She first examined her dad’s outfit for the day. Black dress pants, a long sleeve white button up collared shirt and a bright orange tie.

“Daddy I like your tie.” She smiled, sitting down at the table.

“Well thank you, Shortcake.” 

Annabelle’s eyes widened when her dad slid her a plate with two giant blueberry waffles on it, “Yummmmm.” She smiled, immediately digging in.

“So,” Seth started, walking over to the refrigerator and taking down an invitation for a Halloween party, “Have you decided about this Halloween party yet? It’s tonight you know.”

“I want to,” she said quietly, “But I dunno.”

A little boy in her class by the name of Sebastian Ambrose was throwing the party that evening. Her entire class was invited, and she liked everyone that was going. For some reason though, it made her tummy do flip-flops.

“I think you’ll have a lot of fun if you go,” Seth encouraged, “It’s important that you make friends, and I bet Sebastian really wants you to go.”

It was true. Sebastian was a really nice boy, he sat next to her. He was super excited for his party, and asked her almost every day if she was going. She liked him a lot, he was the first kid that talked to her on her first day of school. 

Seth and Annabelle had been living in their new town for 3 months. Seth, a college professor, was able to find a job at a near by University. Annabelle’s transition into a new school was a little rough for the first couple of weeks. It was never easy for a child to get uprooted and brought into an entire new world. It was for the best though, even though Annabelle didn’t realize it yet. 

“I think I will go,” Annabelle told Seth, “He really does want me to.”

A small smile spread across Seth’s face, “You’re going to have SO much fun.”

“Will you be home to take me? Or will Kayla have to take me?”

Annabelle’s babysitter Kayla, was a Godsent. She lived down the street, and took care of Annabelle on days that Seth taught late classes, “Kayla will take you and I’ll pick you up ok?”

She nodded, “Ok. Sebastian’s Daddy’s going to have pizza from his restaurant.”

Seth’s eyes lit up. Deano’s was a well known restaurant in town. The pizza was phenomenal, and so was everything else on the menu. Seth and Annabelle had gotten carry out a few times, and loved every bite.

“Will you save me a piece?” Seth asked with a smirk.

Annabelle smiled back, “Of course I will!” 

 

That evening, dressed as Wonder Woman, Annabelle found herself walking down the sidewalk with Kayla. She held her hand tightly, easing the tiny bit of nerves that were forming. 

“Here we are!” Kayla smiled, stopping on the sidewalk in front of a big house, decked from top to bottom in Halloween decorations. The front yard was done up like a grave yard with fake tomb stones and escaping body parts. Strobe lights lit up against the house, while two fake witches stood on the porch mixing a potion. There were ghosts hanging from the trees, and a giant inflatable archway at the bottom of the driveway for everyone to walk through. 

“Holy crap,” Annabelle whispered wide eyed, “His house is huge.”

“I was admiring the decorations.” Kayla smirked, giving her hand a squeeze.

“I think they’re rich.”

Kayla laughed, “Honey. Sebastian’s dad probably makes good money at his restaurant. Besides, it’s not like you are your dad are pinching pennies either.”

Annabelle looked up at her confused, “Huh? Pinching what?”

She sighed and smiled, “Your Daddy works at one of the top Universities in the state, sweetie. You two aren’t exactly poor, ok?”

“Oh.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about, ok?”

Annabelle sucked up all of her braveness, hearing her Daddy’s voice in her head, telling her that she should go. That she would have fun, and it was important to make friends. She could hear her classmates giggling and carrying on through the open windows. 

“Ok,” she breathed, “Let’s go!” 

Both of them giggled while they walked through the fake graveyard, advancing up to the front door. When Kayla rang the bell, a scream followed. Both of them jumped and then started laughing. The door opened, and a vampire appeared with a smile, “Hey Annabelle! You made it!” he exclaimed, opening the door to let her in.

“Hi Mr. Dean!” Annabelle smiled up at him.

“Have fun ok?” Kayla waved.

“Ok Kayla thank you!” she smiled back.

“Ready to party?!” Dean asked, leading Annabelle inside. 

“Wow!” she exclaimed, looking around at the decorations, “It looks like a real haunted house!”

“So I did a good job?” Dean asked.

“Yeah!” she giggled. 

“Annabelle!!!” Sebastian’s voice rang out, as he ran towards her in his Robin costume, “You’re here! Do you want some pizza and candy? We have SO much!”

“Yes!” she squealed, taking his hand and running off with him.

Dean sighed and smiled. Sebastian was SO happy that his dad let him have the party, and that meant everything to Dean. Now, why Dean decided it was a good idea to let him invite his whole class, and not have any other adults to help, may have been a questionable decision.

After hours of pizza, candy, a pumpkin piñata, bobbing for apples, multiple rounds of Dance Freeze, Guess the Gross Food, prizes and finally a movie, the party was dwindling. The kids were watching “Hotel Transylvania 3”, while they waited for their parents to pick them up. 

Seth couldn’t help laughing to himself while he walked up the driveway to Dean and Sebastian’s house. They really got into holidays, that was for sure. When he knocked on the door, he was immediately greeted by his daughter’s voice, “Dadddddy!”

She opened the door for him, letting him in and immediately getting pulled up into his arms, “Hi baby,” he said, kissing her cheek, “Did you have fun?!”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, wiggling down from his grip when Sebastian walked over.

“Hey dude!” Seth smiled to him, “Looks like you threw a rager in here!”

“God, I hope we never get to that level.” A voice replied.

Seth turned to see Dean walking over. The split second that they were in front of each other, time stopped for both of them. They stared at each other, completely oblivious to everything else around them.

“Annabelle,” Sebastian whispered, giving her hand a tug, “I think our Dad’s just zinged.”

She nodded wide eyed, “Uh huh.”

“What do we do?” 

“I dunno.”

“PAPA!” Sebastian exclaimed, with no other logical option.

It broke the spell that Dean and Seth were under, both of the looking to their kids and then back to each other.

“Um…” Dean choked, “I’m Dean, uh, Sebastian’s Dad.”

“Seth,” he replied, trying not to blush, shaking Dean’s hand, “Annabelle’s Dad.”

“Papa!” Sebastian exclaimed excitedly, “Can Annabelle go trick or treating with us tomorrow night?! Can she pleeeeease?! We can show them all the houses to get the best candy! It’s there first time here, we have to take them!”

Dean blinked, still feeling the effects of Seth’s mere presence, “That’s….that’s up to her and her Dad.”

“Please Daddy?!” Annabelle asked, with pleading eyes.

Seth thought his heart was going to pound out of his chest, “That sounds fun.”

“YAAAAAY!” Both of them cried out.

“What about Uncle Roman’s party?!” Sebastian asked.

Dean swallowed, “That’s up to them as well.”

“Who’s Uncle Roman?” Seth asked with a smile.

“My best friend,” Dean explained, “He throws a huge party every year. So after Trick or Treating, we’re going to head that way. You guys want to join?”

“Yeah!” Annabelle spoke first.

“Annabelle,” Seth said, looking at her with his eyebrows raised. He turned back to Dean, “Are you sure he won’t mind?”

“Heck no,” Dean replied, “He usually gets on me for not bringing friends. Just have Annabelle bring an overnight bag. They usually are asleep before we’re done.”

“Sounds…..sounds good,” Seth smiled, looking back at his daughter, “So we’ll come Trick or Treating, and go to a party then?”

Annabelle and Sebastian looked at each other, “YES!”


	2. I am Batman, you know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and Robin take Superman and Wonder Woman Trick or Treating! -- Seth and Dean slowly get to know each other, while taking their kids out for candy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the the kudos and comments about Chapter 1! To balance out this crazy week, here's some light, fluffy cuteness for everyone!

Dean stood in front of the full sized mirror in his bedroom, checking himself out in his Batman costume. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t suddenly self conscious about how he looked in it. 

“Papa!” Sebastian called, running into Dean’s room pretending to be flying in his Robin costume, “I’m ready!”

Dean couldn’t help smiling at him, before asking, “Do I look alright?”

Sebastian stood back and examined his dad for a second, “Hmmm. Looks good! Put on your mask!”

“How about when we leave?”

Before Sebastian could answer, he heard the scream from the doorbell, and took off running to answer it. Dean felt butterflies take over his stomach and he swallowed hard, “Crap.”

“Hi Annabelle!” Sebastian exclaimed, when he opened the door, “Hi Mr. Seth!”

“Hey dude!” Seth smiled, walking inside with Annabelle, “You ready to get the goods?”

Sebastian nodded eagerly, while bouncing up and down, “Yep!”

“Hey guys!” Dean smiled, coming down the stairs into the living room. He froze when he saw Seth dressed in a Superman costume, obviously to compliment Annabelle’s Wonder Woman one. The blue tights showed off every muscle in Seth’s legs, while the Superman logo stood out on his toned chest. Little did Dean know that Seth was staring at him, having pretty similar thoughts. Sebastian and Annabelle looked at them, and then to each other, and then back to their dads. It was even more clear to them at that moment of what was going on. 

“Um,” Sebastian started, “Can we go?”

Dean and Seth both snapped out of their daze, fumbling over their words but managing to head out the door. The kids skipped ahead of them, giggling as they went down the sidewalk in between houses. Seth and Dean stayed a few feet back, keeping an eye on their kids and making a valiant attempt at a conversation. The furthest they got was Dean explaining that he was a vampire for Sebastian’s party, and now Batman for Halloween night. 

Annabelle, who was ever so perceptive, turned around to them, “Daddy!” She exclaimed, “Your favorite is Twix right?”

Seth smiled at her, “Yes sweetie.”

“Yesssss!” Dean chuckled, “There’s not a better candy bar on Earth!”

Annabelle turned back around, getting a high five from Sebastian and continuing on their candy quest.

“When I was a kid, I would take them out of my friend’s candy bags when they weren’t looking,” Dean admitted with a smile, “Or I’d try anything to trade.”

Seth laughed, “Did you ever have that friend that would NEVER trade you ANYTHING? Even though you KNEW they didn’t like whatever it was?”

“Oh fuck yes,” Dean replied, “That used to piss me off so bad.”

“Somehow I’d always get everyone’s Starbursts,” Seth said, looking at Dean with a confused face, “Why would anyone give those up?”

“Hell if I know. Starbursts are jackpot.”

“TRICK OR TREAT!” They heard their kids yell as they stopped in front of another house. When they came running back towards their dad’s, Annabelle’s eyes were wide, “Daddy look! Look how much they gave us!”

Seth investigated the handful of candy that his daughter was showing him, “Wow!”

She giggled, as Sebastian grabbed her other hand and they took off for the next house. 

“They go a little crazy around here.” Dean explained with a smile.

“I can see that,” He replied, “Her bag is already almost full.”

“We have backup, don’t worry.”

“We do?”

“I have two more bags folded and under my belt.”

Seth couldn’t help the loud laugh that he let out, “Always prepared, huh?"

“I mean," he started with a smile, "I am Batman you know."

"Valid point."

Through the rest of their Trick or Treating expedition, Seth and Dean continued getting to know each other. The more that they learned, the more that they wanted to know. Talking turned into a little bit of flirting, although neither of them realized that it was happening. 

Dean was in mid sentence when a heinous looking zombie sprung up from someone’s lawn at them. It let out a shriek that caused both he and Seth to jump, and innocently grab each other’s hand. The kids laughed, as the animated prop fell back to the ground.

“It scared you! It scared you!” Annabelle giggled in a sing song voice.

As Dean and Seth both got their heart rates back to normal, they looked down and realize they were holding hands. They immediately let go, both blushing slightly and trying to play off what just happened.

“Scaredy cat!” Sebastian teased.

Dean’s eyes widened, “Oh my God! Behind you Sebastian!”

Sebastian jumped and immediately spun around to find nothing there. He turned back to his dad who was now getting his revenge, “Scaredy cat!” Dean taunted.

Seth and Annabelle were having quite a laugh at Sebastian’s expense as well. Sebastian pouted and glared at his dad, “I’ll get you.”

“Bring it.” Dean teased.

Later on, Sebastian and Annabelle were back at Dean and Sebastian’s house. They sat on the living room floor, sifting through the pounds of candy that they ended up with. Annabelle had never imagined getting so much candy for Halloween before. She was completely mesmerized by it.

“People always give out candy with dump trucks?” Seth asked Dean, standing in the kitchen with him, sipping a Sprite.

Dean shrugged, “Ok, I’m not sure how this is going to sound but I’m being honest. Some people around here have a ton of money, and they tend to go over the top on holidays.”

“Some people?” Seth asked sarcastically, eyeballing around Dean’s fantastic kitchen.

“You live 3 streets over,” He replied flatly, “Don’t give me that look.”

“It’s a different neighborhood technically.” He smirked.

“Technically. However, our kids ride the same bus AND I’m betting your house is pretty fucking nice.”

Seth thought for a minute and then smiled, “It’s alright.”

“Just alright?”

“Papa!” Sebastian’s voice interrupted.

“What’s up?!” Dean called back.

“We’re done! Can we go to Uncle Roman’s now?!”

Dean looked to Seth, “You ready to party, Superman?”

“Lead the way, Batman.”


	3. Tonight Was Incredible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's off to Uncle Roman's Halloween Bash!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Thank you for the kudos and comments! Super appreciated! I wanted to have this up last night for Halloween, but I haven't been feeling so well the last few days. November 1st is a great day anyway, all the Halloween candy is 50% off at the stores now!
> 
> This chapter gets REAL deep for our favorite boys. We get the full scoop on their pasts, which *TRIGGER WARNING* includes mentions of family members with drug problems. So if that's not something you're comfortable with, you should skip this one.
> 
> Happy Halloween to all of you Incredible ones! :)

“Holy moly.”

Those were the first two words to come out of Annabelle’s mouth, when they pulled up to Roman’s house. Seth had the exact sediments as his daughter while he stared at the house in front of them. It was without a doubt, a dream house. At least three levels, a two car garage and a porch with white railings that stretched across the front of the house. The Halloween décor put Dean’s to shame. 

In the backseat of Dean’s Jeep, Annabelle turned to Sebastian next to her, “Is he rich?”

“Shortcake that’s not --” Seth started, from the passenger seat. 

“Yes.” Dean and Sebastian answered at the same time.

Seth turned to face Dean, “What’s he do?”

“He and his wife are both doctors,” Dean explained, “He works at the hospital, she works at a private practice.”

“Woah.” Annabelle replied, wide eyed.

“Don’t feel intimidated.” Dean said to Seth with a smirk. 

Seth smirked back, “I don’t.”

“You’re a liar.”

He couldn’t help laughing at how well Dean pinned how he was feeling. Sebastian and Annabelle looked at each other confused, “Papa, can we get out?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes,” He replied, turning off his Jeep, “Let’s go.”

“I have my own bedroom here,” Sebastian told Annabelle as they walked up the path to the festively decorated porch, “I used to live here!”

“Seb.” Dean said firmly.

He turned to his dad confused, “What’s wrong?”

Dean was stuck. He couldn’t explain to Sebastian why he shouldn’t have said that. Well, why he didn’t WANT Sebastian saying it. Quickly, he regrouped, “Where’s your eye cover, Robin?”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, unwrapping it from around his arm where he had safely tied it.

Annabelle giggled at him, while Seth smiled. Crisis adverted. Dean didn’t talk about that time of his life very often. It definitely wasn’t coming up right then and there either. 

“Where’s your mask?” Seth teased Dean quietly.

“Right here.” He replied, matter-of-factly, pointing to it on his head.

“I’m ringing the doorbell!” Sebastian exclaimed, running up the steps and pressing it.

The door opened seconds later, and a 6 foot 3, dark brown haired version of Mr. Incredible stood with a smile, “Hey Seb!”

“Hi Uncle Roman!” he exclaimed, giving him the biggest hug that his arms would allow. Roman chuckled, holding Sebastian in his arms and managing to let them all into the house. 

“Seb, is this the lovely Annabelle?” Roman asked, smiling to her as Sebastian let him go.

“Yep!” he replied with a smile, “She’s my best friend!”

Annabelle blushed, “Hi Mr….. I mean, um, Mr. Uncle Roman.”

He laughed, “Mister makes me sound old. Uncle Roman works.”

She smiled, “Ok!”

Roman looked up to Dean, “What’s up Batman?”

“Nothing, oh Incredible one,” Dean smirked, motioning to Seth, “This is Seth, Annabelle’s Dad.”

Roman extended his arm and shook Seth’s hand, “Nice to meet you, welcome to the party.”

Seth smiled back, “Thanks for having us.”

“My pleasure.” he replied.

“Is that Dean and Sebastian?!” A voice called from the kitchen. 

“Yeah babe!” Roman called back.

Within seconds, Roman’s wife Gemma, donning a Mrs. Incredible costume, came into the room. In her hands were two giant goody bags, “Hi guys!” she exclaimed with a huge smile, immediately gushing over Sebastian and Annabelle.

“Hi Aunt Gemma!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“You both look so cute!” She smiled, crouching down and handing them both the bags, “And this is your friend Annabelle?” she asked, gently poking her nose.

“Yes!” Sebastian smiled.

“Nice to meet you honey.” She smiled.

“You too Mrs…I mean Aunt Gemma,” she said shyly, “And thank you for the candy bag.”

“You’re welcome sweetie.” 

Seth was clearly in a state of amazement at how warm and inviting that Roman and his wife were to him and his daughter. It was like they were long lost family.

While his wife was introducing herself to Seth, and chatting with Dean, Roman was carefully studying Seth. Dean had called him that morning, and rambled about Seth for at least two hours. He couldn’t recall Dean ever talking about another guy in years. Especially for two hours. He could still feel his ear drum vibrating, and it wasn’t from the music downstairs. Roman could see by how Seth smiled at Dean as he talked to Gemma that he definitely was in to Dean. He could also see that Seth was genuine, and that’s what Dean needed. 

“You guys ready?” Roman smiled.

“YEAH!” Annabelle and Sebastian jumped at the same time.

Through the large vestibule they walked, following the sound of music and voices. The party was downstairs in the lower level, prompting them to walk down a spiral staircase to get there.

“So cool!” Annabelle smiled while she walked down the steps.

The room stretched to the size of Roman’s entire house. Complete with everything, from a bar to a Jacuzzi, pool table, dance floor, strobe lights, and a juke box. Music was playing loudly while the lights stayed dim and people socialized, danced and drank. 

For a half second, Seth felt slightly uncomfortable having Annabelle there. That was until Roman motioned for his kids to come over. Dressed as Violet and Dash from the Incredibles, his 14 year old daughter and 12 year old son immediately smothered Sebastian with hugs. After everyone was introduced, Roman reminded his kids of their agreement from earlier that day. They were allowed to be at the party until Sebastian and Dean arrived. Then they were taking Annabelle and Sebastian upstairs to play games and watch movies, along with the other kids.

Roman’s kids were more than happy to oblige. They were just excited that their dad let them come to the party for a little while that year. Usually it was strictly for adults and they would spend the night at their friend’s houses. Annabelle was so excited that she didn’t care what they were going to do. For Seth, this was different. He wasn’t used to her wanting to run off and do things that didn’t include him. It was strange.

“She’s fine.” Dean said into his ear quietly.

Seth looked at him and then back to Annabelle as she and Sebastian ran back up the spiral staircase, “I know.”

Dean smirked, “She’s fine. They’re just upstairs, they’re not going anywhere. You can go up and check on her whenever you want to, ok?”

Seth shifted his eyes back to Dean, “Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Reading my mind.”

Dean smiled, “You do realize that I have a kid too, right? That there’s a good chance that I happen to know the feeling you have right now?”

“How long til it goes away?”

“It doesn’t,” Dean replied, “You just learn to handle it.”

Seth closed his eyes, “I’m screwed.”

“You’ll be fine,” he replied, “Let’s grab a drink or something.”

A drink? What? Seth couldn’t even compute the concept. He hadn’t drank since…..since…..before Annabelle that was for sure.

He followed Dean to the bar, taking the beer that Dean offered and looked at it for a second, “I think I forgot how to do this.”

Dean chuckled, “I know what you mean.”

Further into the night, Seth and Dean found themselves sitting on the couch together, half buzzed and laughing at nothing important. They didn’t know that Roman had been watching them the entire night, continuing to form his own opinion about Seth. The truth was, he hadn’t seen Dean so genuinely happy in years. Roman didn’t want it to stop, ever. 

“Do you dance?” Seth asked Dean, while he watched Roman’s friends on the dance floor. 

Dean’s eyes bulged, “Uh no.”

“C’mon,” Seth teased, “Not at all?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s terrible at it,” Roman said, as he walked over, “Don’t tempt him.”

Dean turned pink while Seth laughed, “Alright, that’s the only answer I need.”

Roman smiled, “My daughter put the kids to bed. She said they were both asleep almost right away.”

Seth blinked, and looked at his watch not realizing how late it had gotten, “Oh shit, I-”

“It’s ok, that’s why my kids are watching everyone else’s. Just have a good time, ok?” Roman smirked.

Seth let out a sigh of relief, “Ok. Got it.”

A couple more hours of drinks, flirting, and relaxing went by almost instantly. Dean checked the time and decided that he wanted to go check on the kids. Seth admired Roman’s house as they walked through the middle level, and up another flight of stairs. At the top, his eyes widened when he saw how many bedrooms there were. 

“You’re easily amused.” Dean smirked, walking to the door that had a sign reading, “Sebastian’s Room” on it.

Dean quietly walked in with Seth behind him. Annabelle and Sebastian were sleeping soundly in Sebastian’s bed, while the TV flickered some late night movie. Dean smiled, pulling the blankets up on both of them, while Seth left a kiss on Annabelle’s forehead. 

They left the room, Dean quietly closing the door behind them. He walked a few rooms down, motioning for Seth to come with him. Seth followed Dean into the bedroom, his eyes widening slightly at it’s size. Then again, he shouldn’t have expected anything less at that point. Dean closed the door softly, then flipped on a lamp and flopped down on the large sectional couch, “Sit down, stay awhile.” He said, putting his beer down on the small table next to the couch. 

Without argument, Seth sat down next to him. Dean debated a second, wanting to put his arm around Seth, but not wanting to be rejected either. Dean couldn’t help wanting to touch him though, he had to. As casually as he could, he slid his hand over to rest on Seth’s leg, “How you feeling?” he joked.

“Amazing actually,” He replied, looking at him, “Not just because I’m drinking, I just….I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Not spending every last second worried about your daughter or work?” Dean asked.

Seth looked at him almost confused, “Yeah…..how did….”

“Because it’s exactly how I feel right now,” he interrupted, “My kid is safe, there’s nothing at work for me to worry about right now, and I’m getting to know this great guy. It’s a little overwhelming honestly.”

Blushing, Seth replied, “I can’t even remember the last time I even went out with anyone besides family.” 

“Yeah, this is rare for me,” Dean said, “Having a kid slammed on the brakes of my life. Unless Roman is the host of the party or event, I don’t go. This is kind of embarrassing, but I haven’t even had a date since I adopted Sebastian.”

Seth’s eyebrows raised, “Really? You? I find that hard to believe. I figure you could get a date without even trying.”

He smiled, “I didn’t want to. The only thing I cared about was my kid and my business.”

Seth nodded, and quietly admitted, “Same thing with me. I haven’t even entertained the idea since the day that Annabelle was born. This is weird, I actually feel…..”

“Relaxed?” Dean smirked, “Because there’s finally nothing to worry about for a little while?”

“Exactly.”

“Me too.” He replied, bravely tracing his hand over Seth’s leg to his hand. He rested his hand next to Seth’s, waiting to see his reaction. Seth overlapped their pinkies, giving Dean a feeling of relief and warmness.

“Can I ask about Annabelle?” Dean asked quietly.

Seth looked to him, “What about?”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Dean replied, almost regretting his question, “Are you divorced, or separated?” 

Any time that a question about Annabelle would come up, Seth immediately tensed and became defensive. He didn’t want to talk about their past, it hurt too fucking much. But that night, for the first time ever, Seth felt through his body that he wanted to talk.

“Biologically, Annabelle isn’t my daughter,” he began slowly, “She is my sister Tori’s biological daughter. Tori was extremely hard into drugs, to the point where my parents had to wash their hands of her. She was terrible.”

Dean’s face fell soft, “Oh, Seth I’m sorry, you don’t have to….”

“It’s ok,” he swallowed, even though he wasn’t sure how, “I’m ok.”

He gave him a reassuring look, “I’m sure that it was a hard decision for your parents. That’s nothing easy to deal with.”

“Understatement,” he replied, “But um, she ended up pregnant, and had no clue who the father was, of course. Continued to do drugs, and I hate using this term, but Annabelle was a crack baby. She was early, had low birth weight, but thankfully, she’s ok.”

“Wow,” Dean said, “I…that’s awful.”

“It was,” Seth agreed, “I got emergency custody of her the second that she was born. The doctors weren’t letting my sister take her, not that she even wanted her. She came into the hospital high and in labor. Then she disappeared hours later, while I was in the NICU with Annabelle.”

When tears started to form in Seth’s eyes, Dean couldn’t help holding his hand, “If you don’t want to t-” 

“No it’s ok,” Seth replied, “I never talk about it, ever. I finally kind of feel like I can right now.”

Dean understood completely and gave his hand a small squeeze, “Ok. Take your time.”

Bravely, Seth squeezed back and continued, “I named her Annabelle Elaine after my grandmothers. She was in the NICU for almost a month, and I was there with her. Tori never came once. Emergency Custody went to permanent pretty quickly. Then at home, Tori would randomly show up. She’d swear she was getting clean and she wanted to be part of Annabelle’s life. Then she would disappear again for months at a time.”

“Who did Annabelle think she was?” Dean asked.

“Just Tori. She was still too young to ask any other questions that would cause confusion. But Tori would promise to take Annabelle places, and basically show her the world. Then she’d be gone, and Annabelle would be upset. It really took a toll on her when Tori would pull that shit. So I put my foot down, and told Tori that she wasn’t allowed to see her anymore.”

“Wow,” Dean said, wide eyed, “How’d she take that?”

“She didn’t care. It was less that she had to worry about.”

“God damn,” Dean whispered, feeling heartbroken for Seth, “Did she ever get help?”

Seth shook his head, “We were at dinner at my parents house and the police showed up,” he paused, as tears threatened. When he felt Dean give his hand a squeeze, he managed to continue, “They found her dead in a flop house, she was speed balling and OD’ed.”

Dean’s jaw fell, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

“Nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“Is….” he started, “So that’s why you and Annabelle moved here?”

Seth nodded, wiping away a stray tear, “Everyone in town knew what happened. People talk, and I didn’t want Annabelle subjected to any of that shit. She’s not finding out anything until I decide it’s time. So we packed up, and here we are.”

“If it helps,” Dean said quietly, “We’re glad that you guys are here.”

“Yeah,” Seth smiled through his now trickling tears, “It does.”

Taking a chance, Dean moved closer and put his had on Seth’s back, gently rubbing circles. Seth practically melted into the touch, and leaned into him. When he couldn’t contain his tears anymore, he found himself wrapped in Dean’s arms securely. Dean held him tightly, quietly reassuring him that things were ok, and they were going to work out. That Annabelle was taken care of and loved, which were the best possible things for her. That Seth is the reason she has them.

“I didn’t mean to bomb you.” Seth choked into Dean’s shoulder. 

“It’s ok, sometimes you just have to,” Dean replied, slowly letting him out of his embrace, “I kind of get the vibe that you’ve been holding that in for awhile.”

“Yeah,” he admitted, wiping his eyes, “A long while.”

“When you’re ready to talk, then you talk. I mean, life isn’t always marshmallows and rainbows, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I found that out the hard way.”

Seth wiped his eyes, “What do you mean?”

Dean sighed to himself. He wanted to tell Seth, he really did. He hadn’t felt so connected or comfortable around a person that wasn’t Roman in years. 

“You don’t have to tell me, just because I did.”

Dean shook his head a little and then began to explain, “I was married, and we wanted to adopt. Sebastian was going to be all ours. Then two days before we were signing the papers, he walked out on me. He said that he didn’t want the life we had anymore. After all of the visits with Sebastian, I had already fallen in love with him. I knew that I wasn’t changing my mind because my ex was a douche. So a week later, I was making bottles and signing divorce papers.”

Seth’s eyes were wide, and his stomach in knots, “Oh my God, I….”

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” he said with a small smirk, “I wouldn’t want my life any other way.”

Seth gave him a small nod, “So how did you handle all of it?”

“Roman,” Dean answered, “He decided that we were moving in with him, and that’s what we did. That’s why Sebastian said earlier that he has a room here. This room was mine. But we stayed here for a few years until I got everything under control. Then the idea for a business came about, and the rest is history.” 

“Roman’s an amazing dude.”

“He’s alright.” Dean joked.

“How’d you guys meet?”

“4th Grade,” He answered, “Kind of been attached ever since. Gemma was his high school sweetheart too.” 

“Never had a friend like that.” Seth said quietly. 

“I mean,” Dean smirked, looking at him, “Our kids seem to have found one in each other. Maybe their dads should too.”

“They seem to be heading that way.” Seth blushed.

Dean reached up, holding the side of Seth’s face and brushing his cheek with his thumb, “Maybe even further?”

Seth felt his heart drop, but found himself leaning in and brushing his lips against Dean’s, “I hope so.” he said quietly against them.

It wasn’t anything more than soft pecks, and pauses in between to keep them both grounded. This was new, scary, overwhelming and amazing all wrapped into one giant package. 

“What are you doing to me?” Dean asked, resting his forehead against Seth’s, “I….I…..”

“Whatever you’re doing to me,” Seth breathed, feeling the exact same emotions that Dean was, “But I don’t want it to stop.”

Dean pulled him into his lap, connecting their lips once again. This time, everything they had was behind it. Everything that they locked away years ago, convinced they’d never feel it again, came flooding out. Fear vanished, and confidence grew, simply from each other’s touch and lips. It felt like they had known each other forever, not just two days and that sharing this intimate moment was almost normal. The time that they spent on the couch just dropping kisses and snuggling into each other was making them both whole again. 

It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that Dean realized they hadn’t even gone to sleep yet. He left a small kiss on the side of Seth’s neck and asked, “It’s pretty late, how do you feel about moving this to the bed?”

Seth smirked, “Probably a good idea. Wouldn’t want anyone walking in and seeing Batman making out with Superman anyway.”

Dean chuckled, “Good point.”

They slowly climbed from the couch, Dean playfully grabbing at Seth and leaving a kiss on his cheek. He found Seth a pair of his pajama bottoms to sleep in, tossing them over to him. Seth immediately chuckled when he saw that they were blue with a Superman print on them, “Well that’s cute.”

Dean smiled, “Seb picked them out for me.”

“Kid has good taste. Annabelle wants me to wear bright colors and polka dots.”

Dean couldn’t help the chuckle that came out, “I bet it would look good though.”

“Sure.” He smiled back, unzipping and stepping out of his costume.

“You need a shirt?” Dean asked.

“No, I’m good without one.” Seth replied, getting situated in the pajama bottoms. 

Dean nodded, keeping to himself how hot Seth looked wearing them alone with no shirt. Usually Dean slept in just boxers, but tonight he needed an extra layer without a doubt. After climbing out of his costume, he threw on sweatpants and crawled into bed. Seth was getting comfortable surrounded by the fluffy blankets on the King sized bed. From his back, Dean reached towards him, guiding him into his chest. Seth let out a relaxed sigh, resting his cheek on Dean’s chest. Dean had his arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly, “I could get used to this.” Dean said quietly.

“Me too,” Seth hummed contently, “When I wake up, you’re going to be here right? This isn’t some twisted dream?”

He kissed Seth’s forehead, “The only way I’m not going to be here, is if I’m hungry and go downstairs for food. If Roman’s making smiley-face pancakes, all bets are off.” 

Seth chuckled, “Ok, got it.”

“Tonight was fun.” Dean murmured into Seth’s hair.

“Still is.” Seth smiled.

Dean squeezed him, leaning down and stealing a small kiss, “Can we do it again sometime?”

Seth kissed him back and answered, “Whenever you want.”

They both knew what that meant. Whenever there was time between work, the kids, and everything that went on in between.

“Promise we will?” Dean asked.

Seth smiled, “Yes.”

He grinned followed by yawning, “G’night Seth.”

With his heart full for the first time in years, Seth replied, “Night Dean.”


	4. We Picked Ducks!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Seth get much needed alone time, and their confidence starts to grow. In the meantime, Annabelle finds happiness and excitement that she didn't know existed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
> As always, thank you for the comments and kudos, they're VERY much appreciated. This is my first multi-chapter fic, so realizing that it's being enjoyed gives me lots of confidence!
> 
> This chapter is full of fluff, excitement and our favorite boys getting a little smutty time. A little. Not much. :)
> 
> Also, I just want to mention that Uncle Roman is the best and will continue to be throughout this story. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Roman awoke the next morning, surprisingly not as hung over as he thought he would be. There was an unfamiliar weight on his stomach though, and when he opened his eyes he was greeted by Sebastian. 

“Good morning.” He smiled, still in his Batman pajamas and perched on top of Roman. 

Annabelle sat on the bed next to them, wearing her Peppa Pig pajamas, and giving him an innocent smile, “Good morning.”

“Good morning guys.” Roman mumbled, looking to his left and seeing that his wife had already gotten out of bed that morning. 

“Do you know where our dads are?” Sebastian asked.

“Seb, I’ve been asleep, how am I supposed to know?” Roman yawned.

He shrugged, “You know everything.”

Roman chuckled, “Did you check his room?”

“The door is locked.” Annabelle replied.

“Wait, what?” Roman blurted out, “Wait, I mean,” he fumbled, trying to recover, “Here’s my guess. Your dad probably let Annabelle’s dad sleep in his bed, and your dad is probably on the couch. He also probably locked the door on accident. So why don’t we just let them sleep?”

Sebastian shrugged, “Ok.”

Roman looked to Annabelle, “Is that ok with you, sweetie?”

She nodded, “Yeah. My Daddy never gets to sleep late. He should today.”

He smiled to the kids, relieved that they went for his explanation, “Ok, get off of me and we’ll figure out breakfast.”

“Smiley-face pancakes?!” Sebastian asked, wide eyed.

“What’s that?!” Annabelle asked him, looking just as excited.

“The greatest pancakes ever!” Sebastian smiled.

“Ok, so you two go get dressed and brush your teeth, then meet me downstairs ok?” 

“Ok!” Sebastian replied.

“Um,” Annabelle started shyly, “Can you help me with my hair? My Daddy usually does, I can’t get all the knots.”

“Absolutely,” Roman smiled to her, “Or Aunt Gemma will.” 

Annabelle immediately smiled back, then yanked Sebastian from on top of Roman so they could go get dressed. Once they were out of sight, Roman climbed up, throwing on a T-Shirt and sweatpants, then heading out of the room. He stopped in front of Dean’s door, giving the door knob a quiet jostle. When he confirmed that it was locked, he reached up and took the skeleton key off of the ledge above the door. As silently as he could, he put the key in, unlocking and opening the door. 

Roman crept into the room just enough so that he could see the bed. His eyebrows raised when he realized that Seth and Dean were both sleeping in it. Still with Seth wrapped in his arms, Dean looked so comfortable and at peace while he was sleeping. Roman walked closer, still noticing things about Dean just by how he was sleeping. He was relaxed, and it almost looked like he had a small smirk on his face. Although he didn’t know Seth very well, he could see the same traits with him while he slept as well. 

At that moment, Roman devised a plan. Carefully, he tip toed over to the window and pulled the blinds shut. The room darkened to Roman’s liking, and he quietly crept back out of the room, locking the door behind him.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that Dean’s eyes fluttered. He blinked a few times, looking around the dimly lit bedroom. He smiled when he saw Seth still dreaming away in his arms, while the memories of the previous night came back to him. It took him a second to process that it really had happened. Then he had another thing to process. The kids. Quickly, he snatched his phone, his eyes widening at the time. He immediately calmed when he saw that Roman had text him, “Hey Sleeping Beauty, took the kids out for the day, you and Seth get some sleep. Be home around 6. Text me when you’re up.”

Dean let out a huge sigh of relief, putting the phone back on the nightstand and snuggling in with Seth again. He gave him a squeeze, then ran his free hand over Seth’s arm while he slept. His fingers trailed over his shoulder, then through his hair. Seth let out a small incoherent mumble, making Dean smile.

“Hey,” he whispered, leaving a kiss on the side of Seth’s face, “Good morning.”

Seth groaned, hiding his face in Dean’s shoulder, “No.”

Dean chuckled, “I know, I know.”

“What time is it?” he asked.

“4.”

Seth’s face shot up, “In the afternoon?!”

Dean already knew that Seth’s mind had gone into Dad-Mode, “Everything’s fine. Roman took the kids out so we could sleep, they’ll be home around 6 ok? She’s fine, nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, clearly concerned.

“If I wasn’t, would I let my kid go with him?”

Seth let out a small sigh of relief at his answer, “Sorry, I ju--”

“I get it,” Dean smirked, leaning in and giving him a small kiss, “No one ever takes her anywhere but you. I understand. I trust Roman with my kid, and my life, ok? She’s fine, I’m sure whatever they’re doing, she’s having a blast.”

Seth nerves were calmed by Dean’s explanation, “Ok. I’m so--”

Dean silenced him quickly with his lips, not allowing Seth to finish his sentence. The concept of morning breath meant nothing, while they laid in bed sharing deep lazy kisses. Neither one of them wanted to move, and probably wouldn’t have if there were no eventual responsibilities to worry about. 

“I need to grab a shower,” Dean said into Seth’s cheek, “You need one too or are you good?”

Seth had no idea where the sudden bravery came from when he answered, “It depends. Would I be showering -with- you?” 

Dean felt his entire anatomy freeze. Seth wanted to take a shower with him. That meant….that meant…..it meant……

“It’ll just be a shower,” Seth smirked, “But if you’re not comfortable, that’s totally fine. It’s not a big deal, I’ll just wait for you to get done.”

“Oh no,” Dean said, sitting up and pulling the blankets away, “Get up, let’s go.”

Whatever sudden insecurity that Dean had previously felt, disappeared as soon as he got under the shower spray. The second Seth had his arm wrapped around his waist, it all became an afterthought. Dean closed his eyes, and leaned back into Seth’s chest while Seth held him close. In reality, Dean would be lying if he said he hadn’t taken a pretty decent peek at Seth’s package. In Dean’s eyes, it certainly was a very nice package. He also had no idea that while Seth left kisses on the inside of his neck, he was thinking the same exact thing about Dean’s lower region.

At some point, unknown to either of them, the bottle of body wash and a wash cloth became involved. Seth still held Dean close, while he ran the soapy wash cloth up and down Dean’s body. Dean leaned back into Seth, letting out a small moan. It got louder when Seth reached Dean’s rising cock. 

“You want to handle this part?” Seth quietly asked in Dean’s ear.

“Fuck no.” Dean moaned out.

“Oh,” Seth smirked, soaping up his shaft and surrounding area, “Ok then.”

Dean shivered slightly, his dick now rock hard, “Damn….Seth….” he murmured, tilting his face to him and connecting their lips. Seth began to slowly stroke Dean while they kissed, getting the loudest reaction from Dean yet. After a few more strokes, Dean decided that Seth should be in on the fun too. He broke away from Seth’s grip, turning around and gently pinning him up against the shower wall. 

Seth gasped slightly, as Dean pressed up against him, both of their cocks brushing against each other. Dean did exactly what Seth had done, washing and rinsing his hair and then soaping up his body. Seth was trembling by the time Dean ran his hand over Seth’s hard on. Dean couldn’t even remotely control his thoughts of how badly he wanted Seth inside him. It took everything in his soul to slow down, and remind himself it had only been 2 days. He absolutely didn’t want to ruin whatever they had going on. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have fun though.

“Relax,” Dean whispered into his ear, when he felt Seth getting jittery, “Let’s just go with it.”

Seth’s nerves calmed at Dean’s words, “Ok.”

Dean rinsed the soap off of Seth, then pressed him back against the shower wall. He ran his hand over Seth’s dripping hair, leaning in and giving him a soft kiss. It was followed by a couple more, before they started getting a little deeper. 

“Shitttt…..” Seth moaned out, breaking the kiss when he felt Dean grind against him. 

“Mmmmm Hmmmmm.” Dean hummed. 

Dean almost stopped breathing when Seth reached down in between them and wrapped his hand around both of their cocks. Seth moaned out himself, before he started to stroke them together.

“Oh GOD!” Dean cried out, his head falling into Seth’s shoulder. 

“Fuck,” Seth moaned, “Dean your dick, fucking love it.”

Dean couldn’t answer, he was too close. There was no chance that he was lasting, he hadn’t been touched by someone else is too long. He leaned forward, gripping Seth’s arms tightly and unstoppably babbling, “I’m- I’m- fuck Seth please don’t st- OH! UH! YES! YES!” he cried out, exploding all over Seth’s hand and cock. 

Seth was right behind him, unable to keep himself together after watching Dean cum. He stroked Dean through his orgasm, before coming the hardest that he may have ever in his life. Both of them were gasping and shaking, holding onto each other as if their very existence depended on it.

Neither of them had any idea how they got from the shower, back into bed. The only thing they knew was that they had just shared something intimate with each other, and it was fucking amazing. 

***

“We’re home!” Sebastian exclaimed, running into the house with Annabelle right behind him.

Dean and Seth had bolted from the bedroom as soon as they heard Roman’s SUV pull into the garage. They both scrambled downstairs, and made it to the kitchen in time to pretend they were looking for a snack. Sebastian and Annabelle were bouncing wide eyed when they made it to their dads.

“DADDY! PAPA! DADDY! PAPA! DADDY!” Came bursting out between both of them uncountable times. 

“What what?!” Seth smiled, scooping up his elated daughter in his arms.

She had her face painted with glitter and purple and pink swirls, with a matching unicorn horn on her head, “We went to the fair!” she exclaimed.

“We had so much fun!” Sebastian declared, his face painted like Spiderman.

“Hey!” Roman beamed, walking into the kitchen carrying a giant stuffed unicorn and an equally huge stuffed Batman.

“Hey!” Dean and Seth smiled back, trying to listen to their babbling and overly thrilled children.

“Daddy, I won a unicorn!” Annabelle exclaimed.

Seth looked to Roman and chuckled, “You did?!” he asked his daughter.

“Uh huh!” She replied, “And Sebastian won a Batman!”

“Yeah!” Sebastian agreed, “We picked ducks!” 

“You did what?” Seth and Dean asked at the same time.

“We picked rubber ducks!” Annabelle explained, “From a pond! We both picked ones with red stickers on the bottom, and we both won!”

“Wow!” Seth smiled, his heart practically ready to explode from how over-the-moon that Annabelle was.

“We had cotton candy! The blue kind!” Sebastian told Dean.

“Blue is the best kid!” Dean smiled back.

“Hey guys!” Gemma greeted, walking into the kitchen, “Wow! What a day huh guys?”

“Uh huh!” Sebastian and Annabelle replied.

“Where’s the kids?” Dean asked Roman.

“They saw some of their friends, and wanted to stay later and hang out with them,” Roman explained, before looking to Annabelle, “Did you tell your Daddy about the pigs?”

“Oh my gosh!” She cried out, looking at Seth, “There were piggy races, Daddy!”

“Piggy races?!” Seth asked, looking at Roman, “Really?!”

He nodded, “She couldn’t wait to tell you about them.”

“That’s so cool baby,” Seth answered Annabelle, “What else?”

“We rode a pony!” she answered, “And Sebastian got to hold a snake, and I got to pet a goat and a bunny!”

“We got to ride the flying swings and the Ferris Wheel too!” Sebastian added.

“Holy moly,” Dean laughed to his son, “You guys did it all, huh?”

“Yeah!” Was their unison reply.

“Did you thank Uncle Roman and Aunt Gemma?” Dean asked Sebastian.

At the same time, both Sebastian and Annabelle replied, “Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome.” Gemma answered.

The night ended sooner than Dean or Seth ever wanted it to. It felt like they had blinked, and they were back at Dean’s house so Seth could get his car and head home with Annabelle. They let the kids hang out in Sebastian’s playroom for a few minutes, taking the opportunity to sneak upstairs to Dean’s bedroom. The light hadn’t even been flipped on yet, before they had their arms around each other. 

“I had so much fun this weekend,” Dean said, resting his forehead against Seth’s, “I don’t even know the last time I’ve been so happy.”

“I know,” Seth answered, giving him a small peck on his lips, “This….whatever it is, it’s going to keep going, right?”

“Yes,” Dean half blurted, “I mean, I really want it to.”

Before Seth could answer, Sebastian’s voice echoed up the stairs, “Papa! It’s late!”

“Fuck,” Dean breathed, letting Seth go and looking at his watch, “Shit, it’s 9.”

“Seriously?!” Seth asked wide eyed, realizing that bedtime had definitely been blown that night.

Dean sighed and looked at Seth, “Yeah.”

“Shit.” Seth frowned, letting out his own sigh and trying to think up something slightly intelligent to say. 

“Listen,” Dean started quietly, “Let’s get them taken care of, and text once they’re asleep ok?”

Seth nodded slightly. He was overtaken with a slight panic because of how late it was, and a flooding feeling of sadness that he had to leave Dean. These were not two emotions that he was used to at all.

“Ok,” He said, “Sounds like a plan.”

Dean leaned in and connected their lips one last time, before having to part for the evening. When Seth was putting Annabelle to bed, she wanted to be sure that her unicorn was safely with her. This made him chuckle, never imagining that he would have to tuck in a giant unicorn to bed. 

“Daddy,” She yawned, “Remember how I told you that I don’t like living here?”

He nodded, “Yes.”

“I think I like it now.”

“Oh,” he smirked, “You do?”

“Yes,” She answered, as her eyes began to fall heavy, “I do.”

Seth smiled, “Good. Me too.”


	5. Oh Hey, Rocco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean gets support from someone he didn't expect it from, or even really want it from. Roman works his magic to keep bringing Seth and Dean together. Meanwhile, Annabelle continues to come out of her shell and experience the world around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I'm going to start by saying THANK YOU for all of the nice comments! Ya'll are the sweetest, thank you SO much!
> 
> I wanted to clarify a couple of things before this chapter. Honestly, it might not really even be important, and I could just be overthinking stuff. Again.
> 
> *I don't specify a town/state that they live in, but it's somewhere warm, where there's beaches nearby. I really don't like to write places that I'm not familiar with, and I live in a cold state. I definitely wanted this somewhere warm.
> 
> *Annabelle isn't a super sheltered kid, and Seth didn't keep her in a bubble lol. It was always just them two, and it caused her to get very clingy, and not want to do anything without him. They didn't really have a lot of opportunities to do cool stuff, and "get out" much.
> 
> *Finally, I hope you like the new character in this chapter. Someone has to actually work at Dean's restaurant, right? 
> 
> Thanks and enjoy guys!

“This is fucking ridiculous.”

It was Monday morning at Dean’s restaurant, three hours before they opened. Although he had his usual morning routine to complete, Dean had no desire to be an adult at all. He was currently sitting at the lunch counter with his face in his hand, trying to motivate himself to at least move.

A couple seats away, Roman looked up from his laptop and sighed, “So let me see if I understand this ok?” He asked, leaning back and folding his arms, “There’s a guy. Who happens to be a really good looking guy, and from what I can tell, he adores you. He has an absolute sweetheart of a daughter, who happens to be Seb’s best friend. Saturday night, you slept the BEST you’ve slept in years WITH HIM and you know it, AND you christened my shower.”

“My shower.” Dean answered, smooshing his face into the counter. 

“My house.” 

“Shut up.” he mumbled into the surface.

Roman smirked, “So you’re head over heels for this guy, so what? It’s not a BAD thing Dean. I get it, it’s your first….well, anything, since…well you know, and you’re just kind of freaking out.”

“I can’t help it.” he replied, turning his face out.

“I know, I know. But I really think that he feels the same way about you.”

Dean’s text alert went off, and he immediately sat up straight. He pulled his phone out to check the message, and blushed when he read it.

“That him?” Roman grinned.

“Maybe,” Dean replied, reading the message over again to himself,

From Seth: Have a great day, don’t work too hard ok?

Dean smiled and tapped out a reply, “You too, I’ll try not to.” 

He sent the text back, then looked up to Roman, “It’s been 3 days Rome. This isn’t right, shit doesn’t happen like this, especially to ME. This is a joke, this has to be a joke. Shit like this DOESN’T happen!”

Roman sighed. He understood why Dean would be apprehensive, honestly he did. But Roman knew in his heart that something was going right with this situation. Something was there, and he HAD to get Dean to see it.

“I know you’ve heard of love at first sight before, Deano.”

“What?!” Dean exclaimed, “That doesn’t happen!”

“Sometimes, I want to knock you out, you know that right?”

“Why?! Because I don’t believe your fairy tale shit?!”

Before Roman could combat his stubborn and over emotional best friend, the front door opened. In came Dean’s restaurant manager, Rocco Vellegia. Dean couldn’t have asked for a better person to run his restaurant and keep things in line. Rocco was a bit older than Dean and Roman, but looked and acted younger than they were at times. 

Roman and Dean were introduced to Rocco by Roman’s wife. Rocco’s sister worked with Gemma, and when Rocco moved to town he needed a job. To make a long story short, Rocco got in with Dean and Roman immediately. 

Rocco came from a large Italian family in New York, and was working in restaurants by the time he was 13. You could say, it was kind of his “thing”. Roman couldn’t help the fact that he loved when Rocco got wound-up about things. His New York Italian accent would go at 100 miles a minute, and his hands flew all over the place. Dean preferred to duck. 

“Mornin’ boss!” Rocco called with a smile, his brown eyes lighting up with his greeting. 

“Morning!” Dean and Roman called back at the same time.

Rocco locked the door back up, and headed towards the other side of the counter to start his morning prep. 

“Anyway,” Dean said, looking to Roman, “You’re full of shit Rome. It doesn’t happen.”

“What doesn’t?” Rocco asked from the kitchen. 

Dean’s nostrils flared, while Roman chuckled at how flustered he was getting, “Love at first sight, Rocco.”

“Yes it does!” Rocco replied, popping up from under the counter so fast that his Yankees cap tilted sideways. 

“Rocco don’t tell me you believe this shit, PLEASE!” Dean replied.

“What?!” Rocco exclaimed, marching back out and around the counter. His hands were already flying before his rant started, “Back in the neighborhood, there was a couple that lived on the corner. Mr. Frank and Mrs. Augusta, and they were married 72 years! You know how they met?!”

“No Rocco,” Dean said flatly, “But I feel like you’re going to tell us.”

“Aye,” he replied, “I’m trying to help you here. They bumped into each other at the market one day. All her apples spilled everywhere, and he helped her pick them up. The second they looked at each other, BAM, they knew. 11 kids, 21 grandkids and 10 great grandkids, they had! Don’t tell me that love at first sight don’t exist!”

Dean looked at him, “How in the hell do you know all of this about them?”

Rocco shrugged a little, “I may or may not have romped with one of their granddaughters. Maybe two.”

Dean’s eyes widened, while Roman began laughing, “What?!”

He nodded, “OH yeah. C’mon, 11 of those grandkids were girls, right in my age range and LET ME TELL YOU, those Sabatino gals had it. Now, I tried for one of their cousins one time, but Mrs. Augusta caught on to me, and chased me out of the house with a broom.”

“Rocco, what the fuck?” Dean asked, while Roman laughed so hard that he lost his balance and almost fell from the chair. 

Rocco shrugged, “At least it was the broom that time. She got me once with a rolling pin. Mama Mia, I couldn’t sit right for a week.” 

“I can’t,” Roman laughed, with tears forming in his eyes, “I’d give ANYTHING to see you getting whooped with a rolling pin.” 

Clearly still reminiscing, Rocco smiled, “It was worth it.” 

Dean let out a defeated sigh, while Roman got a hold of himself, “Hey Rocco, you up for a raise yet?”

“No.” Dean answered.

Rocco frowned and Roman smiled to him, “You absolutely are now.”

When the store phone rang, Dean let out a growl and headed over to answer it. Both Roman and Rocco saw that Dean had left his phone on the counter. Roman sprung up to grab it, quickly unlocking it and finding Dean’s text to Seth. As fast as he could, he asked Seth if he and Annabelle wanted to come up to the restaurant that night for dinner. 

Every Monday, Roman and his family had dinner with Dean and Sebastian there. In Roman’s eyes, it was a perfect thing to invite Seth and Annabelle to. Rocco was chuckling quietly, as Roman put Dean’s phone back on the counter. He closed his laptop, putting it back into his bag and then slinging the strap across his chest, “I’m out Rocco. You should accidentally forget something later. You know, and have to come back here to pick it up.”

Rocco gave Roman a mischievous grin, “Sounds good boss.”

Dean walked back out and sighed, “Soda delivery is going to be late today.”

“Bummer,” Roman replied, walking over and wrapping him in a hug, “All of your invoices are in the system. Try and have a good day ok?” he said, before kissing the top of his best friend’s head, “Everything will work out, I promise. Ok?”

He took a deep breath and nodded, “Yeah.” 

If there was one thing that Dean Ambrose did, it was trust Roman Reigns. He could say that the sky was green, and guess what? Dean believed it was green. Even if he was staring straight at it on a clear blue day. Everything will work out, because Roman said so. 

Roman let Dean out of his embrace, “I’ll see you tonight ok?”

“Yeah,” Dean grinned, “Go glue some people back together or something.”

Rolling his eyes, he headed for the door, “Or something.”

Dean flopped down on one of the counter stools and picked his phone back up. Within seconds, he dropped it back down on the counter with his mouth wide. He blinked a few times, slowly reaching for it once again. This time, he read over the last two texts slower.

From Dean: Do you and Annabelle have plans tonight? Seb and I have dinner with Roman and his family on Monday nights here, you both should come. Around 6.”

From Seth: Sure! 6 sounds great! Looking forward to it!

Dean’s eyes were the size of saucers, “ROCCO WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!”

“It wasn’t me!” Rocco exclaimed, hiding behind a shelving unit.

“Roman.” Dean said to himself, reading over the texts at least 3 more times, “Think Dean, think Dean, think Dean.” He told himself. Swallowing hard, he text back, “Can’t wait.”

Dean dropped the phone back down to the counter and sighed, “Is it 6 yet?”

“Not yet.” Rocco replied.

“I wasn’t talking to-” he stopped when he realized that it was just himself and Rocco in the building, “Just….fuck…..nothing.” 

Time practically crawled for Dean and Seth that day. Seth glanced at the clock at least 30 times during his last lecture of the afternoon, trying not to distract himself in the process. He could have very well just let the class go early, but of course there was a test coming up so that was out of the question. 

Annabelle had no idea about the dinner arrangements while she sat at the kitchen table doing her homework. Kayla had just made her a snack, and was quietly watching Annabelle to make sure she didn’t need any help. Smiling brightly, Annabelle handed her the homework paper and sat proudly while Kayla checked it over.

“Very good,” Kayla smiled, “Perfect actually.”

“Hey I’m home!” Seth called, after he had walked through the front door.

“DADDY!” Annabelle exclaimed, catapulting from the chair and bolting right for him.

Smiling brightly, he scooped her up into his arms, “How was your day Shortcake?”

“Good!” She replied, “I’m done all my homework, and Kayla said I did perfect!”

“Good job!” He replied, kissing her nose, “So I have an idea, tell me what you think, ok?”

Annabelle nodded excitedly, “Ok!”

“How do you feel about dinner at Mr. Dean’s restaurant? With Seb and Dean, and Uncle Roman and his family?”

The scream of excitement that Annabelle let out caused Seth’s ears to ring.

“I guess that’s good.” Seth said sarcastically.

“When can we go?!” She asked, “We’ve never eaten in there before!”

“You’re right, we’ve only gotten carry out. And I’m ready to leave as soon as I pay Kayla, ok?”

“YES!!”

Dean’s restaurant truly was one of the most popular spots in town. There wasn’t another place like it, and the menu was superb. It was very similar to a diner, but attached to it was a rec room with games for both adults and kids. It offered ping pong, table tennis, a pool table, racing games, skee ball, basketball, and old school video games. There were many times where families waited on their adult members to finish playing games and not their children. 

The second that Seth and Annabelle walked in, Dean felt his heart stop. Seth was still in his work clothes, and it was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. Black dress pants, and a white button up dress shirt, with the collar and top two buttons undone. Dean lightly gasped when his cock twitched, in shock at the reaction in him that Seth caused.

“ANNABELLE!” Sebastian exclaimed, jumping from the table where he was sitting with his Dad, Roman and his family.

“HI!” Annabelle exclaimed, running up to her best friend.

Sebastian gave her a hug and smiled, “I’m so happy you came!”

“Me too!” 

Greetings were exchanged, and Seth found himself sitting next to Dean. Annabelle was in between Sebastian and Roman’s daughter Tatum, who was immediately obsessing over how adorable Annabelle was.

“Mom,” She whined, “Why couldn’t I get a cool little sister like Annabelle? She’s so freaking cute, and I can play with her hair and actually have another girl to talk to.”

“Because she wanted me.” Roman’s son Rylan replied with a smirk and a glare. 

Tatum rolled her eyes and then looked back to Annabelle, “And I could play soccer with you.”

Her eyes widened, “Ok! That’s when you kick the ball, right?”

She nodded, “Yup. Exactly.”

“We played in in gym class I think,” She replied, looking to Sebastian, “Right?”

“Yup.” He answered, in between blowing bubbles into his chocolate milk.

Seth chuckled, smiling and giving a wink to his daughter, making her smile right back. 

Dinner was ordered, everyone chatting about their day while they waited for their meals. At some point, Dean reached for Seth’s hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. He squeezed it back, interlocking their fingers and leaving them on Seth’s leg. 

“Aye!” A voice called.

Rocco came walking over to the table with a giant shit-eating grin, “What’s going on here?”

“Hi Rocco!” Sebastian exclaimed. 

“Hey Seb!” He replied. He looked next to him at Annabelle and smiled, “You must be the lovely Annabelle, right?”

She blushed and nodded, “Yes.”

Rocco looked back to Sebastian, “What did I tell you man? No bringing girls around unless they have very good looking older sisters that are my age.”

Seth chuckled, then looked at Dean who smirked back, “My head manager here. He runs it. But he worked this morning so I don’t know why he’s actually here,” he started, looking up to Rocco, “You forget that you already worked today?”

“Forgot my cap.”

Dean glared at him, knowing that it was a lie. While he was brooding, Seth took the time to introduce himself to Rocco. Rocco could see exactly what Roman saw in Seth, just by the introduction. He looked to Roman and gave him a small nod. Roman winked back, knowing they were both in agreement. 

It wasn’t a surprise that the kids were the first ones to devour their dinner. The faster they ate, the faster they got to play games. Child logic. Roman definitely adopted the child logic, finishing his meal quickly so he could join them. When Dean and Seth were done, Dean glanced around to observe the current situation. Roman and the kids weren’t around, and Gemma and Rocco were yapping away.

He gave Seth a nudge, “Take a walk with me?”

“Sure.” Seth smiled.

Making sure that no one was paying attention, Dean headed into the kitchen with Seth behind him. Past the ovens, there was a door that they went through and went down a flight of stairs into the storage basement.

“Wow,” Seth said looking around, “It’s like a bomb shelter.”

“Yeah,” Dean chuckled, “If you plan on living off dry food for awhile.”

The room held extra equipment, and multiple shelving units full of non refrigerated ingredients. Most things were in cans, bags or boxes, and organized neatly to Dean’s liking.

Seth wasn’t exactly sure why Dean had brought him down there, until he felt Dean’s arms wrap around his waist from behind, “Hi.” Dean said quietly, giving Seth a small kiss on his cheek.

“Oh my God,” Seth replied, melting into him, “I can’t tell you how much I needed that.”

Dean turned Seth in his arms, holding him tightly and connecting their lips. He guided Seth towards the wall, gently pinning him against it, “I have to tell you,” Dean breathed in between kisses, “That your teacher clothes, are the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Teacher clothes?” Seth smiled, against Dean’s lips.

He nodded, unbuttoning another one of the buttons, “Fuck. I wanna be in one of your classes. Just to stare at you all day.”

Seth couldn’t help chuckle and blush at Dean’s admission, “I’d get too distracted.”

“Good point.”

“At least I know where your secret hiding spot is here. Just incase I want to distract YOU one day.”

Dean smiled, leaving a small kiss and then pulling away a bit, “I….this is going….I don’t know how bad this is going to sound, but I really missed you.”

“Why’s that bad?” Seth asked.

“I just,” Dean sighed, “I don’t know how this weekend happened, and how we just met and I already feel like this.”

“I don’t know either,” Seth answered, “But I do know that I feel the same way, and that I missed you too.”

Dean smirked, “What are you doing to me?”

“Same thing you’re doing to me.” He grinned back.

“As long as we’re ok with whatever it is.”

“I am,” Seth smiled, “We shouldn’t put a time table on it ok? So fucking what if it’s happening really fast? What are we supposed to do? Make it slow down? Let’s just run with it, and see where we end up, ok?”

Relief coursed through Dean’s entire soul at that second, “I like that idea.”

***

“So Annabelle,” Roman smiled, as they headed back to the table. He scooped her in his arms and then asked, “Do you like the beach?”

Her face fell serious, as she became deep in thought, “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a beach before, Uncle Roman.”

“What?!” Sebastian exclaimed, looking up at them.

Annabelle’s brown eyes fell sad, and Roman could see that Sebastian’s reaction upset her, “It’s ok if you haven’t.” He smiled.

“I don’t think I have. That’s ok?” 

“Yes Sweetie, it’s fine,” He replied, giving Sebastian a wink, “Do you think you’d want to go sometime?”

“What’s at a beach?” She asked innocently, “Sand and the ocean right?”

“EVERYTHING!” Sebastian exploded, wide eyed. 

“Like what?!” Annabelle asked. 

“What’s going on?” Dean asked, reappearing with Seth, “Why is my kid acting like he was shot from a cannon?”

“Daddy!” Annabelle said, “Have I ever been to a beach?”

“Uh,” Seth thought, “No kiddo, we didn’t live near a beach.”

She turned back to Roman, “Nope. No beach.”

Dean could see where Roman was going, and nudged Seth, “They’re going to the beach this weekend, and taking Sebastian. I’m pretty sure they want Annabelle to come.”

“You’re not going?” Seth asked.

Dean shook his head, “Nah. We alternate. I take their kids for a weekend so they can do their own thing. Then they take Seb so I can have a weekend to myself. This weekend is mine.”

Gemma, who had been listening in to their conversation quietly asked, “Would it be ok if we took her?”

Seth blinked a few times as he processed the invite. Gemma and Roman wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t something they really wanted to do. Four kids in a resort town was definitely a handful. But there Gemma stood, smiling warmly and waiting for his response. On the other side of the table, Annabelle was still up in Roman’s arms giggling away at him.

“Hey Shortcake.” Seth said, getting his daughter’s attention.

“Yes Daddy?” She smiled.

“You wanna go to the beach this weekend with them?” He grinned.

Her eyes widened, “AH! YES! BUT WHAT’S AT A BEACH?!”

Sebastian jumped around in excitement, tugging on Annabelle so that Roman would put her down. He began rambling to her about swimming in the ocean, building sand castles, walking on whatever a boardwalk was, rides, games, stores, fishing, and everything else a resort town held. 

“WE GET TO DO THAT?!” She cried out, her face bright pink in excitement. 

“YES!” Sebastian answered, starting to become unglued. 

“Seb.” Dean said firmly, giving him a stern look.

Immediately Sebastian calmed down, blushing slightly before turning to Annabelle, “It’s the most fun ever.”

“Even more fun than the fair?!” She gasped.

“Way more fun!”

Seth looked at Roman, “You sure about this?”

“And give you two a weekend to yourselves?” Roman smirked, “Abso-freaking-lutely.”


	6. Professor Hottie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman smiled and turned his laptop so that Dean could see the screen, “This is the school that Seth works at, and here is his actual faculty page. It’s got his bio, his class schedule, and his office hours. So today, between 12:30 and 2, you’re going to visit him.”
> 
> The idea made Dean’s heart jump into his throat, “Rome, I c- I can’t do that.”
> 
> “Why not?” Roman asked, “They’re his office hours, that means he’s there for people to specifically pop in and bother him.”
> 
> “Right, like STUDENTS!” he exclaimed. 
> 
> “Or Dean’s,” Roman chuckled.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (Even if you don't celebrate it, you're included!!) Thanks as always for the comments and kudos. I'm so freaking excited when I get more lol.
> 
> Hope you like this chapter guys!

Dean learned very early on in life that Roman was always full of surprises. He was constantly thinking ahead, and always had the best intentions in mind. That morning, while Dean was getting things ready before the restaurant opened, Roman was sitting at the counter on his laptop. Dean assumed that Roman was looking over the invoices and bills but he quickly found out that he was very wrong.

“You have from 12:30 this afternoon until 2.” Roman said, looking up and giving him a smirk.

Dean blinked, “To do what?”

“To go visit Seth at work.” 

“A-wha?” was the only response that Dean could get out, looking at his best friend as if he had three heads. 

“You look cute when you stand there with your jaw half open like that.” Roman teased.

Quickly, Dean snapped himself back to reality, “What are you even talking about right now?”

Roman smiled and turned his laptop so that Dean could see the screen, “This is the school that Seth works at, and here is his actual faculty page. It’s got his bio, his class schedule, and his office hours. So today, between 12:30 and 2, you’re going to visit him.”

The idea made Dean’s heart jump into his throat, “Rome, I c- I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Roman asked, “They’re his office hours, that means he’s there for people to specifically pop in and bother him.”

“Right, like STUDENTS!” he exclaimed. 

“Or Dean’s,” Roman chuckled, turning the laptop back and skimming over it, “Wow. He’s got a credentials list a mile long.”

Dean came around the counter and looked over all the awards, achievements and degrees that were listed, “Wow…” he said quietly, “That’s….a lot.”

“Dean,” Roman said firmly, already knowing where his mind was going, “He’s an awesome guy. All of these fancy words and shit don’t make him who he is. Don’t worry about it.”

That was how Dean ended up outside of Seth’s office that afternoon. He stood to the side of the open door for a second just watching Seth sitting at his desk. The sleeves of his white button up were rolled to his elbows, while he read over the papers in front of him. Every so often, he would scribble something down and then keep reading. 

Bravely, Dean stepped forward and knocked on the door frame.

Seth almost had to do a double take, when he looked up and saw Dean giving him a dopey grin.

“H-Hey!” Seth managed to spit out, getting up and walking around his desk towards Dean. 

“Hey yourself, Professor Hottie.” Dean teased walking the rest of the way in so that Seth could close the door. 

“What-” Seth started, “How-”

“How about,” Dean started, looking around and seeing the blinds were down, “You start a little slower?” He smirked, wrapping his arms around Seth’s waist and connecting their lips. 

Seth melted into him while their mouths danced slow and sweet. Dean reached up and ran his thumb over Seth’s cheek and parted their lips, “Hi.”

Seth smiled, “Hi.”

“How’s your day going?” Dean asked quietly, leaving a small kiss on his nose.

“So much better now,” Seth answered, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Dean’s, “Is it Friday yet?”

Dean let out a sigh and squeezed onto him tighter, “I dunno how I’m going to make it.”

“Me either.”

“We have to think of something,” Dean started, pulling away just enough to look at Seth, “I’m going to go out of my mind.”

“Me too.”

“I don’t wanna let you go right now,” Dean confessed, “I hate this.”

“Me too,” Seth chuckled, knowing exactly how Dean was feeling, “So how’d you find me?”

“My best friend is a part time detective.”

“Oh yeah?” he smiled.

“The school’s website,” Dean explained, “He found you, and your schedule. Oh, and all of your smarty-pants credentials too.”

Seth couldn’t help laugh, “Smarty pants huh?”

Dean shrugged a little, “More smarts than I have.”

“I doubt that.” Seth replied, as their grip on each other loosened, and Dean leaned back into the wall. 

“I couldn’t even pronounce some of those awards or whatever they were. Baca piccolo or something?”

Seth laughed, “Baccalaureate?” 

“Yeah whatever,” Dean smirked, “And Magnet Latte or something.”

“Magna Cum Laude?” Seth laughed harder.

“Whatever!” Dean replied, “See? Smarty stuff!”

Seth had to lean back on his desk from laughing so hard. Grinning, Dean walked over and pulled Seth into him, “That funny huh?”

He nodded, as a few tears formed in his eyes from his laughter, “You’re the greatest.” Seth managed to giggle out.

“Why?” Dean smiled, motioning to the wall where a few of Seth’s framed credentials hung, “I didn’t get any of that stuff.” 

“No,” Seth smiled back, giving him a small kiss, “You don’t need any of that shit.”

Dean shrugged, “I mean, wouldn’t I be better if I did?”

“Fuck no,” Seth replied, unsure of where Dean’s sudden insecurity came from, “You’re amazing how you are Dean. You have your own business, that’s where you excel at. You don’t need a piece of paper to tell you that you’re good at something. You’re amazing.”

Dean blushed a little, “Thanks.”

“Was that something that you always wanted to do?” Seth asked, “Have a restaurant?” 

“I wanted to go to culinary school,” Dean replied, “But I was convinced not to. So I didn’t. I was always into food, so when Roman suggested the business to me, it worked out well.”

Seth knew instantly that the person who “convinced” Dean not to go to culinary school HAD to be his ex. Therefore, he didn’t ask about it. Instead he gave Dean a smile, “I’ll say. This entire town is obsessed with your place.”

This was knowledge that Dean had, his weekly sales justified it. But it still felt a little unreal to actually hear it from someone, “Apparently.”

“Dean. You should be proud of that.”

“I mean, no one,” he paused, “Ok, sure, I get great reviews, I know that I run an awesome place. It’s just weird to hear sometimes.”

Seth studied his face for a second and then asked, “No one’s ever really told you that you’re good at stuff before, huh?”

“Besides Roman?” Dean asked, slightly embarrassed, “Not really.”

“I guess,” Seth started, reaching out to Dean and pulling him closer, “I’ll just have to start doing it.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Dean replied softly, although the idea made him feel warm inside.

“Too bad.”

Dean blushed and glanced down, while Seth held on to his hands, “You wanna make a 5 year plan?”

“A what?” Dean asked, looking back up at him.

“A 5 year plan,” Seth explained, “In 5 years, when Seb’s a little older and you’re at a comfortable place with the business, you should go to culinary school.”

Dean processed the concept, but didn’t have the confidence to commit to his suggestion, “I don’t know.”

“Think about it at least, ok?” 

“I can do that,” Dean replied, before quickly changing the subject, “So did you always want to be a teacher?”

“No actually,” He answered, “I changed my major three times before I decided on it.”

“Wow, really? What made you pick History?”

“Well, to start with, I hate numbers. So Math and Science were completely out of the picture. I was always a pretty big History nerd. Especially World War II stuff. Don’t ask me why, I have no explanation.”

Dean smiled. He loved learning new things about Seth, “I was ok at History. Some things put me to sleep though.”

“Yeah, it’s not ALL interesting. I really don’t care for a few of the time periods I have to cover in my classes. But, for me it’s better than numbers.”

“See, that was always my thing. Math and Science.”

Seth made a sour face, “Hated them both.”

“Seb loves Math too. What’s Annabelle like?”

“Everything,” Seth smiled, “I don’t really think she has a preference.”

“Are you really super strict on her about her grades and stuff though? Since you’re a teacher, and all?”

Seth shook his head, “No way and I never will unless I have to. That’s no way to learn. She’s also doing pretty well, and has a good balance and knows what’s expected of her. As long as she is understanding, and gets good marks I have no reason to be up her ass. I have to keep more of an eye on her behavior honestly.”

“Really? She’s such a good kid,” Dean paused wide eyed, when it suddenly hit him, “Shit, I-”

“Dean it’s ok,” Seth replied, “Yeah, behavior problems can form due to the drug use she was exposed to. The teachers have been really good with keeping in touch with me about it though. Thankfully, nothing bad has gone on. The most I’ve heard is that sometimes her and Seb can be a wrecking crew together.”

“My kid?” Dean scoffed jokingly, “Never.”

“Oh please. Like mine’s an angel?”

“You’re joking right?”

“Um, no.”

“Seth your daughter is an actual angel. She’s so well behaved, she’s so sweet, she somehow puts up with my kid and helps him with his school work. Not to mention, it’s all after she got dealt a shitty hand to start off with. She’s an amazing little girl.”

He smiled, “Thanks. Seb’s a nice little dude. Typical boy, you know, runs around like a lunatic but he’s a good kid. I saw you give him THAT look last night when he wouldn’t settle down, and MAN did he straighten up quick.”

Dean chuckled and shrugged, “Roman calls it my ‘Look of No Return’. Which I conveniently picked up from him, but he’ll never admit it.”

Seth laughed, “I like that. I think when Annabelle was younger though,” he stopped for a second to think out his words out, “She was a handful whenever Tori would come around and then disappear. She threw some serious tantrums, and sometimes she just wouldn’t talk. There wasn’t a whole lot I could do, how do you discipline a kid for something that really wasn’t her fault?”

Dean could see the hurt in Seth’s eyes while he was explaining the situation to him. He reached up and held Seth’s face, leaning in and dropping him a couple of small kisses, “You did exactly what you needed to,” he replied, giving him a reassuring look, “You protected your daughter from what was hurting her.”

Seth was quiet while he let Dean’s words sink in, “I….I never even thought about it like that.”

“That’s how I see it.”

He nodded a little, “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

“She’s a great little girl, Seth,” Dean said with a reassuring smile, “And it’s because of you, and only you. You never did anything but what’s best for her, and it shows. Everyone at Seb’s party couldn’t stay away from her, she lights up the entire room. Even Gemma and Roman can’t stop talking about how great she is. Christ, Tatum wants to have sleepovers and take her on mall trips. That’s all because of you.”

Seth sniffled, trying to keep his tears away. Dean’s eyes immediately widened, “No, Seth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“But I’m not upset,” he swallowed, “I just don’t talk about her, and no one’s ever,” he stopped to sniffle again, “No one’s ever said anything to me like that. It’s just….I appreciate it.”

“Seth if you ever don’t want to talk about it -”

“That’s the thing,” he interrupted, “I feel like I can talk to you about it. You’re the only one that actually understands.”

“You can talk to me about it whenever you want to,” Dean replied, before giving him a long kiss, “Anytime. You’re such a good dad, Seth. There’s a lot of people that would have given up on her so fast.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, “You know that you’re a great dad too right?”

Dean shrugged, “I guess.”

“You had options,” Seth said, “You chose the right one, and I know that had to be a hard few years for you. You never gave up either.”

The goose bumps that broke out on Dean’s arms almost shot him through the ceiling. Seth’s words and his understanding were almost too much for him to process at that second. 

They were interrupted when the alarm on Seth’s phone rang out, “Shit,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket and turning off the alarm, “Class,” he frowned, “I gotta go.”

Dean sighed, “Bummer.”

“I know.” 

“I guess I’ll talk to you a little later then?”

“Of course,” Seth replied, “Maybe we can come up with an excuse to see each other later.”

“Hmmmm,” Dean smirked, giving him a kiss and then asking, “Like what?”

“Like I left my bank card at the restaurant last night, and you brought it home with you?”

Dean’s eyes lit up, “You’re genius.”

“I mean….you did call me a Smarty-Pants.”

“I’ll never make fun of you again.”

***

“A bank card is a credit card, right?” Sebastian asked Annabelle.

It was after dinnertime, and Seth and Dean’s master plan to see each other that evening was in full swing. Sebastian and Annabelle were downstairs in his playroom playing Xbox, when his question came up.

“Yeah,” Annabelle replied, “To pay for stuff.”

Sebastian paused the game and looked at her, “But we don’t have to pay for dinner at my Papa's place.”

She shrugged, “Maybe it fell out of his wallet. My dad’s silly sometimes.”

“Oh, ok.” He answered, going back to the game without a second thought.

Upstairs in Dean’s bedroom, Seth and Dean were hiding out as secretly as possible. They were both laying on Dean’s bed, playfully poking and tickling at each other. 

“I feel like a fucking teenager.” Seth smirked into the side of Dean’s face.

“Because we’re sneaking around, or because we’re rolling around on this bed and giggling?” 

Seth laughed, “Both.”

“What’s worse? Getting caught by your parents, or your kids?” Dean smiled.

“Kids,” Seth replied, “I mean, you don’t even have to explain yourself to your parents. They know what you’re getting in to. Kids, not so much.”

“Valid point,” Dean groaned, looking at the clock, “Speaking of.”

“Hm?” Seth asked.

“Almost bedtime.”

Seth had to do a double take at the clock. The last two hours that he spent in Dean’s bed had flown by, somehow without interruption from the kids. They would have heard them coming a mile away, and already had a plan in mind for the potential situation. Instead they got two entire hours together. Two hours of making out, random soft kisses, laughing, snuggling, talking and just absorbing each other. They were the most amazing two hours that both of them could have asked for that day. It ended with promises to text once the kids were asleep, and anticipation for whatever tomorrow would bring them.


	7. Sleep Tight, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your Papa is REALLY tired, Seb,” Seth explained, looking at him, “He had a long day a work, and some stuff broke. He’s asleep right now. Would it be ok if Annabelle and I hang out for awhile so your Papa can sleep a little longer?”
> 
> Sebastian didn’t hesitate when he answered, “Yes, and we need to be really quiet so he can sleep. He needs to sleep, he works a whole lot.”
> 
> Seth nodded, “Exactly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii!!!!! You guys leave the BEST, SWEETEST comments! Thank you so much! I hope you like this one! :)

After school on Wednesday, Annabelle sat at the kitchen table doing her homework. Annabelle loved Wednesdays. Wednesday meant that her daddy didn’t have to teach that day, so he stayed home. That meant that he would be at the bus stop to pick her up that afternoon, and then race her back down to their house. Wednesday’s meant building a tent to watch cartoons in, when she was done her homework. This particular Wednesday turned out to be a little different.

When Seth’s phone rang, Annabelle’s eyes widened, “Who is it?!” she exclaimed, dropping her pencil and watching her dad pick his phone up off the counter.

“It’s Aunt Gemma.” He smiled to her, before answering the call.

“Tell her I said hi!” Annabelle exclaimed.

Seth put his finger to his nose, signaling for her to quiet down. She sat back and listened to him talk, before he smiled again and told Gemma to hold on.

“Aunt Gemma wants to talk to you.” He said, handing his phone to Annabelle.

“Hi Aunt Gemma!” Annabelle nearly exploded into the phone. 

Her “Aunt” had some questions to ask her before they went on their beach trip. After a few minutes of chatting, Annabelle’s eyes widened and she looked at Seth, “CAN I GO SHOPPING WITH AUNT GEMMA AND SEB AND TATUM AND RYLAN FOR STUFF FOR THE BEACH?!” 

Seth smiled, “If you finish your homework first.”

“AH! I will!” she cried out, getting back on the phone, “He said I can go!”

Seth couldn’t help chuckling at his daughter’s excitement. Sometimes he wasn’t sure if she was just easily entertained, or he really had kept her to himself too much. It didn’t help that their old town basically had nothing for them to do either. 

“Daddy?” Annabelle asked quietly, once she was off the phone with Gemma.

“Yeah?” he replied, noticing her sudden mood shift.

“Does this mean that we can’t make our tent? I don’t have to go if you want me to stay home and make our tent.”

Seth couldn’t help the small smirk that formed on his face. He picked her up out of her chair and smiled, “If we have time tonight when you’re doing shopping, we can make one. If not, there’s always next Wednesday ok?”

“Are you sure?” She asked, hoping that Seth wasn’t upset.

“Of course I am,” He reassured her, “Sometimes things come up. It’s not a bad thing, ok?”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes Shortcake, I promise.”

Somehow it was arranged that Seth and Annabelle were going to meet everyone at Dean’s house. There was no doubt that it was Gemma’s doing completely. Tatum had Annabelle in her arms the second that she got in the door, “Are you ready to do some shopping?!” Tatum smiled.

Annabelle nodded, “Yes!”

Gemma and the kids gave Seth and Dean quick goodbyes and were out the door. 

“C’mere,” Seth smiled when the coast was clear, wrapping Dean in his arms and connecting their lips. He could tell immediately that something was off with Dean, concerning him, “Hey, what’s wrong?” Seth asked softly, after he broke the kiss.

Dean’s eyes were heavy, and he was clearly not himself, “I’m ok.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Seth replied, leaving a long kiss on his forehead, “Try again.”

He let out a sigh, “Work killed me today.”

“What happened?” he asked quietly, holding onto him a little tighter.

“We got our shipment for the week, and in the middle of us getting that put away, the power went out. So then we had to scramble to get everything put away as fast as we could to keep it cold. From the power going out, it blew out one of the breakers to one of the ovens. So then I had a broken oven to deal with. We didn’t get to open up until around 4. Almost half of my day in sales is gone.”

Seth felt terrible for Dean, and wanted to completely erase his day for him. He leaned in and gave him a small kiss, squeezing on to him some more, “I’m sorry all of that happened,” He started, “Why don’t we go take a nap? I know you’re wiped out.”

“I’m gross,” He groaned, “I need a shower.”

“Then go take a shower first.” 

Dean looked up, “You coming with me?”

Seth shook his head, “If I shower with you, we’ll be in there for a REAL long time. I mean, it sounds great, but you really need some sleep. So go grab a shower, and I’ll be in bed, ok?”

Dean couldn’t disagree with Seth’s logic. Seth brought him in a pair of boxers and pajama bottoms while he was in the shower, “Got you Batman.” he teased.

Dean laughed under the spray, “Those are my favorite!”

“I figured,” Seth smirked, “Can I wear Spiderman then?”

“You can wear whatever you want to.” Dean smiled.

“Noted.” he chuckled, before leaving the bathroom.

He quickly changed then flopped into Dean’s bed, waiting patiently for him to finish his shower. Soon enough, Dean was crawling into bed with him. Seth rolled to his back, and guided Dean up into his arms, “How do you feel?”

“Better,” Dean murmured into Seth’s neck, “You have good ideas.”

“Mmmmm hmmmmmm,” Seth hummed, pulling the blankets up and securely over them, “Get some sleep ok baby?”

“Mmmmm,” Dean mumbled, “Baby?”

Seth didn’t mean for that to even slip out, he didn’t know how it did, “Um, I mean….if it’s ok.”

“It’s perfect, baby.” 

“Good.” Seth smiled in relief, dropping a kiss on Dean’s forehead.

Dean let out a small yawn, “Hours to ourselves, laying in bed together, and we’re going to sleep.”

Seth couldn’t help chuckle a little, “So fucking what? I happen to like sleeping with you.”

Dean nodded into him, resting his arm across Seth’s upper body. Seth wrapped him up securely in his arms, then temporarily said goodnight to the world. 

***

Gemma was a smart one. She called Dean when they were on the way home to forewarn them that they were coming back. When Dean didn’t answer, she tried Seth, who answered groggily. Gemma couldn’t help laughing a little, before letting him know where they were. 

“Thanks.” He mumbled, before ending the call.

Seth looked over and saw that Dean was knocked out cold, in the same position he fell asleep in. Seth smirked a little, leaving a kiss on the top of his head and carefully sliding out of bed. He pulled the blankets up securely over Dean, then got dressed and headed out of the room. He quietly closed the door behind him, hoping the kids weren’t going to completely break sound barriers when they got back. 

Thinking ahead, Seth met them outside on the driveway when they got dropped off. Of course Annabelle couldn’t wait to tell her Daddy about the HUGE mall that they went to, and show him everything that she got. Once she was finished rambling on about a carousel, a giant toy store, and The Disney Store, she showed Seth her new unicorn-printed swim suit, flip flops and matching beach towel. 

“Do you like them?” Annabelle asked, looking up for Seth’s approval.

“I love them,” He smiled to her, crouching down to be at her and Sebastian’s level, “You guys had fun then?”

“Yup.” Sebastian smiled, while Annabelle nodded.

“Good,” he replied, “So, I need to talk to you guys real quick ok?”

“Uh huh.” They answered in unison.

“Your Papa is REALLY tired, Seb,” Seth explained, looking at him, “He had a long day a work, and some stuff broke. He’s asleep right now. Would it be ok if Annabelle and I hang out for awhile so your Papa can sleep a little longer?”

Sebastian didn’t hesitate when he answered, “Yes, and we need to be really quiet so he can sleep. He needs to sleep, he works a whole lot.”

Seth nodded, “Exactly.”

It wasn’t until around bedtime when Seth had to make a decision. Did he wake Dean up, or try and get Sebastian ready for bed? Then he came up with an idea. He’d ask Sebastian.

Both kids were sitting in the playroom, playing with Sebastian’s super hero action figures. Seth couldn’t help smiling when Annabelle made Batman do a back flip and land in a toy garbage truck.

“You stink now!” She giggled.

Sebastian burst out laughing, “Ew!”

“Hey guys,” Seth said, walking the rest of the way inside, “What’s going on?”

“Playing.” They both said innocently, looking up at him.

“It’s getting late,” he started, “Seb, Papa’s still asleep. I can wake him up if you want me to, or maybe we can get you ready for bed, so he doesn’t have to get up. What do you think?”

Sebastian thought for a second before answering, “I think that I can get ready for bed with you guys and let my Papa sleep. I really want my Papa to get sleep. He works so hard, all the time.”

“Yeah, he does,” Seth replied, looking to Annabelle, “Is that ok with you Shortcake? We get Seb to sleep and then we’ll leave?”

She nodded, “Ok Daddy.”

He smiled then asked Sebastian, “Ok, where do we start?”

Sebastian thought for a second, “I need to pack my book bag, and take a shower. Then I read a story then I go to bed.”

“I can pack your book bag for you.” Annabelle offered.

“Really?” he smiled.

“Uh huh,” She answered, getting up, “And my Daddy can read you a story.”

Seth blinked for a second, absorbing that his daughter had just volunteered him for double story duty that night, “Alright. Let’s go.”

Everything went smoothly. Annabelle organized Sebastian’s school work and notebook, then neatly packed it in his Batman book bag. Sebastian finished his shower quickly, and found himself tucked in bed listening to Seth read them “Dr. Seuss’ Sleep Book”.

When he finished, Sebastian’s eyes were heavy and he yawned, “Thank you Mr. Seth.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispered, turning on the nightlight, “We’re going to go ok?”

Sebastian nodded, but before he could answer, fell fast asleep. Annabelle put his stuffed Batman doll under the covers with him safely and left the room with her dad. Seth flipped the light switch on his way out, and walked as quietly as he could to the front door. 

“Shhhh.” Annabelle reminded him responsibly, when he opened the front door.

“No kidding.” He whispered back.

They snuck out of the house like two teenagers sneaking off to a party while their parents were asleep. 

***

Dean’s eyes fluttered open in the middle of the night. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out how and when he ended up asleep. He reached over and grabbed his phone, his eyes nearly popping out when he saw the time. He jumped from the bed and scrambled out of his room to find the house completely quiet. 

Sebastian’s nightlight was shining out into the hallway, prompting Dean to head to his room. Inside, he found his son sound asleep hugging onto his Batman doll. Completely confused yet relieved, Dean looked back at his phone. There was a text from Seth that he didn’t see, received hours prior. 

“Hey baby, I really hope you got some sleep. Seb is fine, he has his book bag packed up, he took a shower, and went right to sleep after a story. I’ll talk to you when you wake up. Two more days!”

Dean was so overwhelmed that he actually had to go sit back down on his bed. There was a guy, who actually cared about Dean and his kid so much, that he took care of them. Without being asked. And his name wasn’t Roman. Was this real life?! Dean had erased this entire possibility, entire concept out of his realm. He had himself convinced that he didn’t deserve this kind of treatment, or happiness, or even love maybe. How was this happening? 

With his mind running circles around itself, he picked up his phone and punched in a number. Anxiously, he tapped his fingers on his leg while he waited for an answer. Just when he was sure that the call was going to voicemail, he heard the other person fumble to answer the phone. 

Groggily, Roman mumbled, “This better be good.”.


	8. I'll Take One Math Book, Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Um…Papa?”
> 
> It was early in the evening when Dean heard those words. From the couch, he glanced up from his iPad and looked to his son. He knew that familiar tone, and those nervous blue eyes. Bracing himself for the worst he replied, “What’s up bud?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry it's been a little long for an update, work has been insane! Gotta love Christmas season, right? Thank you guys SO much for the reviews, ya'll leave the sweetest, nicest comments! :) Enjoy!
> 
> Two (very) small things to know:  
> 1\. "Basta!" in Italian means "Enough!".  
> 2\. "Dun-Dun" is from Law and Order SVU. Amanda Rollins is a character played by Kelli Giddish.

On most days, Annabelle was her own alarm clock. She would wake up on her own, give or take a few minutes each day, and start to get ready for school. Very rarely did Seth have to pop into her room and make sure she was awake. That morning turned into one of those rare times. 

Seth was surprised to find Annabelle still sound asleep in her bed, when she was usually already bouncing around. He couldn’t help smiling a little bit at how perfect she looked, dreaming away and hugging onto her unicorn. The small smirk on her face while she slept was absolutely precious. Seth couldn’t even remember her sleeping like that before. He also couldn’t remember her not waking up on time either.

Seth walked over and sat on the side of her bed, gently running his hand over her hair, “Hey, Shortcake,” he said softly, “Time to get up baby.”

Annabelle mumbled, hardly able to open her eyes. Then it dawned on Seth. Bedtime had been blown twice that week, and his daughter was most definitely exhausted. She was out cold again before he had even blinked. He felt pretty bad, knowing that he was part of the reason that she was so wiped out. 

Sighing, he looked at the clock and then back to her. It couldn’t hurt to let her sleep in, right? Let her get a few more hours, and then bring her to school late. That could work. Seth’s classes didn’t start until noon and he could drop Annabelle off at school on the way. It would give her plenty of extra sleep, which he could see she really needed. Seth smirked a little, then climbed onto the bed. He set an alarm on his phone, then snuggled up with his daughter and drifted back to sleep.

********

A little bit across town, Sebastian was sitting a the kitchen table at Roman and Gemma’s house, eating Lucky Charms. This was his morning routine when his dad had to work early. He would get dropped off, eat breakfast and then Gemma would take him to school on her way to work. Sebastian liked how his mornings worked, especially that particular morning. 

“Mr. Seth is really nice, Aunt Gemma,” He said, in between chomps of his cereal, “He even read me a story!”

Gemma looked up from her ipad and smiled, “You’re right, he is very nice.”

“He didn’t have to do that, you know,” He continued, “I think that my Papa really needs a nice friend like him.”

“I agree,” Gemma answered, “I think that Mr. Seth probably needs a nice friend like your Papa too.”

“Yup,” he said, before changing the subject, “How many hours until we leave for the beach?”

Her eyes widened as she looked to the clock and back at him, “Are you going to make me count this early? How about one more sleep?”

“Ok,” he smiled, taking a sip of his chocolate milk, “Then we get to stay until Monday because we don’t have school on Monday, right?”

“Right.”

“I really hope Annabelle likes it there,” He said, “She said that she’s never gone on a vacation before, and that she has never gone anywhere far away without her Daddy. I think she might be scared.”

“She might be nervous,” Gemma explained, pulling her brown hair into a ponytail, “But that’s normal. You used to get nervous when you would go places without your Papa.”

“I did?!” He asked, in shock.

“Very much so.” She replied.

“Oh, ok. I think she’ll be ok. If I was, then she will, right?”

“I think she’ll be just fine.”

*******

Like the previous mornings that week, Dean and Roman were at the restaurant doing their usual routine. Roman sat at the counter, looking over spreadsheets on his laptop while Dean sat a few seats away over analyzing his lack of sex-life. 

“I’m being serious!” Dean exclaimed, after he realized that Roman really wasn’t phased by his current concerns, “What if I don’t even remember what to do?! It's been how long?! What if it's like 5 seconds and I'm done?!"

Roman looked up with a serious face, "You won't be. I raised you better than that."

"Fuck you too." Dean spat, just as Roman burst into laughter, "Come on Dean, calm down. Everything will be fine. Who cares if it's 5 seconds or 5 minutes? Seth's in the same boat you are ok? You know that. Stop psyching yourself out. You're making a hobby out of it and honestly it's unhealthy."

"Ok Dr. Love." Dean frowned.

"Alright, think back to losing your virginity ok?"

"Which time?"

Roman's nostrils flared and he sighed, "Both."

Dean rolled his eyes as he thought back to high school, "Ok, with Chloe it was pretty lame. I mean I got off, but it was lame."

"No shit. You're into guys."

"At the time I was confused!" he exclaimed.

"Noted," He answered, "Chloe was pretty hot though. Anyway, what about with Marco?"

Dean smirked, "That was a good time.”

"Exactly. So you're now basically a born-again-virgin. Same concept. You have nothing to stress about. Like I said, from what you’ve told me about his love life, he’s most likely feeling exactly how you are.”

Dean folded his arms and let out a small whine, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. When have I ever encouraged you to do something that didn’t work out?”

“Remember 11th grade when you told me to…..”

“You weren’t supposed to get caught!” Roman interrupted.

“Whatever,” He answered, “Getting suspended for 3 days wasn’t so bad.”

Roman closed his laptop, “Please relax, ok? Please?”

“That’s as relaxed as he’s going to get.” A voice called from the kitchen.

Dean’s head shot up, “Rocco! When the hell did you get here?”

Rocco came around the corner, already in his apron with his beloved Yankees cap sitting backwards on his head, “Somewhere around you mentioning someone named Marco.”

“Fuck my life.” Dean groaned, while Roman laughed.

Rocco shrugged, “Aye, we all had our firsts. Marco’s a good, strong Italian name. You can’t go wrong there.”

“He apparently had a good, strong Italian sausage too.” Roman teased.

“You’re just mad that I was the one getting it.” Dean fired at him.

“BASTA!” Rocco exclaimed, not wanting to imagine such things about one of his favorite foods.

“Ok, ok, sorry,” Dean smiled, “My bad.”

Roman laughed while he packed up his bag, and slung it over his shoulder, “Go do work,” he said, giving Dean a hug and a kiss on the top of his head, “Stop worrying, ok?”

Dean took a deep breath, “Yes, Dad.”

*******

“Um…Papa?”

It was early in the evening when Dean heard those words. From the couch, he glanced up from his iPad and looked to his son. He knew that familiar tone, and those nervous blue eyes. Bracing himself for the worst he replied, “What’s up bud?”

“Um…” Sebastian said, taking a breath, “I accidentally left my math book at school.”

“Your math book?” Dean asked, “As in the one you need so that you can do your homework?”

Sebastian bit his lip and nodded, “Yes.”

“Seb,” Dean sighed, putting his iPad down and rubbing his eyes, “Since when did you get forgetful?”

He shrugged, “It was an accident.”

“I’d hope so,” Dean answered, “So what do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know.” he replied in a mumble.

Dean tapped his fingers on his leg and then reached for his phone. It took him a couple seconds before dialing Seth’s number. A few minutes later, Dean found himself in Seth’s kitchen while Sebastian and Annabelle sat at the table sharing her math book.

“This happen often?” Seth asked Dean, as he handed him a soda.

Dean shook his head, “Nope.”

“Not the worst thing ever.” Seth grinned.

“Daddy,” Annabelle said, without looking up from her book, “You can finish your grades, I’ll help Sebastian.”

“You sure?” Seth replied, looking over at the page they were working from.

“Yup,” She answered, “Got it.”

“Ok,” he replied, “We’re going to go down to my office then, ok?”

“Ok.” Both of them answered.

When Dean and Seth left the room, Annabelle and Sebastian looked at each other with matching smirks, “Where’d you hide your math book?” She asked.

“Under my bed.” Sebastian grinned. 

Annabelle giggled, then put her hand up and high fived Sebastian, “That was easy.”

*******

 

“How much do you have to grade?” Dean asked, closing the door behind him.

The lower level to Seth’s house was split into two halves and included 3 additional rooms. One side served as Seth’s office, with his desk, computer, file cabinets, book shelves and everything else he’d need. On the other side was a small living room with a large sectional couch and a flat screen TV. Shelves of DVD’s lined one of the walls, while a bean bag chair sat in the middle of the floor next to the coffee table. There was also a guest bedroom, a bathroom, and a laundry-utility room as well. 

Seth sat down on the side of his desk and sighed, “I don’t know, maybe like 10 more papers.”

Dean crinkled his nose, walking over and nestling himself in between Seth’s legs, “Can they wait?”

A smile formed on Seth’s face, “Maybe.”

“Oh,” Dean smiled back, giving him a small kiss, “Just maybe?”

“Possibly.” he teased, standing up and pulling Dean in closer.

“Oooooh,” Dean replied, “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Somewhere ended up being the couch, a hot make out session firing up quickly after they sunk into the cushions. Dean was laying on top of Seth, straddling his hips and devouring every inch of his mouth. When his hands slid under Seth’s shirt, Seth broke the kiss, “Did you lock the door?” he breathed out.

“Fuck.” Dean answered wide eyed, springing up off of Seth and right for the door. 

“Not used to having to do that.” Seth chuckled, while Dean twisted the lock on the handle.

“We need an alarm or something.” Dean teased, pulling his shirt off and crawling on the couch facing Seth.

“Or something.” Seth smiled back.

“Where were we?” Dean smirked.

“I think my shirt was about to come off.” He answered, trying not to giggle.

Dean wiggled his eyebrows, before continuing where they left off. For someone who talked down on himself about his sexual abilities, Dean sure knew what the fuck he was doing. Thinking about it made Dean crazy, nervous and beyond insecure. Yet, the second he got his lips on Seth, it all went out the window. He could lick and nip away at Seth’s upper body for days, while making him squirm and moan in approval as he did. 

Dean’s arms had become Seth’s safety. Nothing could ever get to him while he was wrapped up in them. While their lips continued to smash together, Dean separated himself causing Seth to whine and break the kiss, “Whaa…”

Seth stopped when he felt Dean pull his shorts down, “Fuuuckkk……” Seth breathed.

Dean kissed the side of his neck while he palmed Seth’s hard on. Slowly, he began giving little tugs, getting a whine and a hiss from Seth.

“Someone likes that.” Dean whispered into his ear.

“Uh-huh.” Seth managed to get out.

Dean reconnected their lips, jerking Seth steadier and a little faster. Each time that Seth moaned into Dean’s mouth let Dean know how close he was. That was until Seth threw a wild card. Dean practically spit the kiss out when he felt Seth’s hand venture under Dean’s shorts and give a couple tiny tugs to his throbbing dick.

“No fair.” Dean breathed, trying to keep himself together.

Seth smiled, “You taking these off or am I making you cum in your shorts?”

His eyes shot open, “OFF.”

*******

_**"These are their stories….." **DUN DUN****_

“Tatum really likes this show.” Annabelle said to Sebastian.

He nodded from next to her on the couch, where they were sharing a bag of chips and watching TV.

“Are we old enough to watch this?” He asked.

She shrugged, “I think so. She let us watch it, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Dean and Seth appeared a few minutes later, slightly confused at the sight in Seth’s living room. 

“Hey,” Dean smiled, “Done you’re homework?”

“Yup!” They both answered, with their eyes still glued to the TV.

“What are you watching?” Seth asked.

Both of them shrugged, “It’s a police show.” Annabelle replied.

Seth and Dean both studied the TV for a second and came to the same realization, “Uh no,” Dean said, “Not a kids show.”

“Oooooh!” Both of them frowned as Seth got the remote.

“But Daddy!” Annabelle started, “Amanda the police-lady has our last name!”

“And Amanda the police lady doesn’t want little girls watching a show that they’re not old enough to.” He replied.

Annabelle sighed, “Ok.”

Seth flipped on the first thing he could find that wasn’t Law and Order SVU. He settled on the football game and then looked back at them, “So no homework problems?”

“Nope. All done.” Sebastian smiled.

“Did you finish your papers, Daddy?” Annabelle asked.

Seth froze for a second, then stuttered out, “Uh, yeah, almost I think.”

Dean smirked, “Something like that.”


	9. 10,080

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday. Enough said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one week? Yaaaay!!   
> It's finally Friday, so let their weekend begin!  
> Kudos and Comment ALWAYS and SO very appreciated!

Minutes. There are approximately 10,080 of them in the course of a week. It had been almost exactly that long since Dean and Seth first laid eyes on each other. In those 10,080 minutes, something had grown between them that neither of them could even wrap their brains around. They couldn’t explain what made their hearts jump every time they thought about each other. Seth had no idea why Dean’s eyes melted him from the inside out, or why his arms felt like a fortress around him. Dean couldn’t process how someone could actually care about him, or even why. What they both did know however, was that today was Friday, and that their kids were running around like maniacs.

Sebastian and Annabelle were bouncing around the kitchen at Dean’s house full of giggles and excitement. Dean was pretty convinced that Roman would have to tape them both down if he wanted to keep them under control. Seth still had a pinch of nerves about Annabelle being so far away from him for so long. But Dean reassured him multiple times over again that everything would be fine.

Roman and Gemma were right on time to pick up Sebastian and Annabelle. After being reminded by Seth and Dean to mind their manners, listen to Uncle Roman and Aunt Gemma, and behave, they were ready to go. Roman packed both of their bags in his SUV and waited for them to say their goodbyes. 

Annabelle hugged around Seth’s neck tightly while he squeezed her, “Have fun ok?”

She pulled away and smiled, “Ok Daddy, I will!”

“I love you, ok?” 

“I love you too.” She answered, giving him a kiss on his nose.

Seth chuckled, putting her down on the floor and watching as she raced out the door with Sebastian. Roman wiggled his eyebrows at Dean and Seth, “You kids have fun.” He smirked, before following the kids out the door.

The second that Roman’s SUV pulled away from Dean’s house, Dean had his arms around Seth’s waist, “Hey,” he smirked, giving Seth a small kiss, “It’s Friday.”

Seth smiled against his lips, “So it is.”

Dean took a couple of steps backwards, leading Seth towards the stairs. With kisses in between every few steps, they made their way up to Dean’s room. Dean slowly slid his hands under Seth’s shirt, keeping their lips together while his fingertips danced up and down his back. Seth was overtaken by goose bumps at Dean’s touch, even more so when he broke the kiss and pulled Seth’s shirt up over his head. Dean’s arms were back around Seth instantly, his kisses going from his lips, down Seth’s neck and shoulders. His shirt flew off, giving Seth’s hands access to ever ripple of Dean’s chest and upper body. 

Without much effort but with small giggles, Dean tossed Seth onto the bed. He landed on his back, Dean slowly crawling over him and stopping at the waistband of his shorts. Seth’s breath hitched when Dean bit the elastic and tugged at it with his teeth. The shorts were gone almost instantly, and Dean teasingly licked a strip over Seth’s throbbing cock.

“Shit…” Seth choked, as Dean did it twice more before he removed his own shorts.

He kissed a slow trail across Seth’s stomach, then up over his abs and right to his neck. Seth was melting from Dean’s lips on his skin, “Dean….” Seth let out in a small whisper., “C’mere….” he said softly, guiding his face up to his own, “Give me those lips back.”

Dean smirked, their lips reconnecting once again, tongues colliding gently and deeply, arms wrapped around each other securely. When Seth’s hand slid down and grabbed Dean’s ass, he let out an approving moan. Seth smiled against Dean’s lips, squeezing his ass harder this time, making Dean shiver and grind down against him. 

“Fuck….” Seth gasped, feeling Dean’s rock hard cock against his own. He pressed himself up against Dean, and in return got his lip lightly bitten. 

“Mmmmmm……” Dean breathed, grinding against Seth at a steadier pace.

“Mmmm Hmmmm,” Seth mumbled in agreement, smiling against Dean’s lips again. Slowly, he crept his hand around, and ran his finger over Dean’s ass crack. He immediately gasped and shivered at the feeling he had almost long forgotten. 

“Good?” Seth quietly asked, trailing kisses down Dean’s neck.

“God yes.” he blurted out.

“Where’s….”

Dean reached over to the nightstand drawer, pulling out a bottle of lube, popping the top off and tossing it next to them. Seth rolled them over, turning and pulling Dean into his arms so that his back was flush to Seth’s chest. He kissed the side of Dean’s neck, while he snaked his arm underneath him, pulling him tighter into him. Seth left kisses on Dean’s shoulders, while running his finger tips down the length of his body. 

“Fuckkkk.” Dean breathed, when his fingers trailed over his cock. He turned his head and connected their lips in a deep needy kiss. 

Trying not to break their lips, Seth ran his nails down the length of Dean’s body, stopping to readjust his legs comfortably. Dean squirmed slightly out of anticipation and the idea that he might actually combust. 

“I got you baby.” Seth said into Dean’s ear, his lubed fingers applying light pressure to Dean’s entrance.

“Fuck….” Dean mumbled. 

Seth smirked a little bit, knowing exactly how badly Dean needed this. Seth needed it just as badly, maybe worse. Dean’s moaning got louder, as Seth skillfully crept his finger in further, slowly stretching him. 

“Seth I….” Dean started, gripping Seth’s arm that was across him, “Oh God that feels SO good!”

Seth kissed the side of Dean’s face, keeping his other arm securely under and across him, “Gonna get you nice and open for me baby.” he murmured into Dean’s ear, gently working in another finger.

“Se-oh GOD….sh…Jeezzzzzzeee.”

When Seth had Dean stretched enough for a 3rd finger, he screamed out, “SETH! SH---” 

“Just like that baby….” Seth growled into his ear, “So fucking good……”

“Seth…” he whimpered, while his sweet spot was being brushed, “I need….Seth I NEED YOU IN ME PLEASE!” 

Seth was in no position to argue. His dick was soaked with pre cum, begging to be smashing into Dean’s heat. Seth withdrew his fingers, then turned Dean onto his back. He quickly smeared lube on his cock and leaned over Dean, connecting their lips in a deep kiss. Without breaking the dance between their tongues, Seth adjusted Dean then lined himself up and slid inside of him. Dean choked back from the kiss, while Seth cried out Dean’s name. 

Dean moaned, “Fuck….Seth….yes!”

It took everything for Seth to keep himself together, starting off slowly and getting into a rapid rhythm. Dean’s words turned into mixed babbles and pleads when Seth nailed his sweet spot. Seth couldn’t keep his moans and screams of pleasure quiet either, crying out Dean’s name every time he’d clench around him. Dean smirked a little, knowing that Seth loved it when he did that. In return, Seth would give him a fake glare, and drill him even harder.

This was too much for Seth, his memories of past sexual experiences never included this feeling. How there was another person that he was connected to, that made him feel this way, that was causing the sparks to shoot through his body. How he was the reason that this person was crying out his name, begging for him to go faster, fuck him harder, and squeeze him tighter. He never wanted it to end.

Their lips connected again, only parting when oxygen was necessary. Dean let out cries that encouraged Seth to go faster, their skin slapping and echoing through the room. 

“Seth!” Dean sobbed, spitting out the kiss “Seth I’m so-OH FUCK!”

Seth couldn’t believe he had Dean on the edge and hadn’t even touched him. Just the thought started bringing Seth closer to spiraling out with him. 

“Go ahead baby,” Seth breathed into Dean’s ear, “Cum for me baby, I know you’re so clo-”

“FUCK! OH FUCK SETH! SETH SETH SETH!!!” Dean sobbed, his body shaking profusely while he came in between both of them.

Seth tried to last longer while he pounded Dean through his orgasm but couldn’t do it. Within seconds he was screaming for Dean, biting down on his shoulder while riding out his orgasm. 

“Sethhhhh….” Dean moaned. 

Seth collapsed on to him in exhaustion, letting out a hiss when his sensitive cock slid out. He stayed halfway on top of Dean, both of them holding each other tightly while coming back down. Seth kissed the side of Dean’s face and rested his forehead against his, “You’re so fucking good, you know that?”

Catching his breath, Dean shook his head as his eyes fell soft, “No.”

“You are.”

“I…” he started, looking away.

Seth kissed him softly and then asked, “No one has ever told you that?”

Dean sighed, “Something like that.”

“Well, I’m telling you,” Seth smiled, “You’re fucking amazing baby.”

Dean smiled back, leaving him another kiss before suggesting, “Shower?”

“God yes.”

The shower was hot, steamy, soapy and full of kisses. The more they kissed, the closer they held each other, both feeling each other getting hard again. Dean pinned Seth’s back against the shower wall, kissing him as deeply as their mouths allowed. He grinded their cocks together, both of them moaning into each other’s mouths. 

There was only so much that Seth could take, before he turned Dean around and pressed him to the shower wall. Dean didn’t have time to react, before Seth was inside of him again, quickly starting to pound away. This time it was quicker and much hotter. Dean came almost instantly when Seth reached around and started stroking him in line with his thrusts. Something about how Dean looked and felt when he came, set Seth off into his own orgasm right after.

They stumbled back into bed, only half dry and still sharing kisses. Flopping back into bed, Dean crawled into Seth’s arms and snuggled in tightly. Seth dropped kisses on Dean’s head, gently running his hand over Dean’s arm, “That was fun.”

Dean chuckled, “Yeah, definitely.”

“We should do it again sometime.” Seth teased.

Instead of giving him the smart ass response that he anticipated, Dean picked his head up and quietly spoke, “I um, I need to ask you something.”

“Like what?” Seth asked, reaching over and holding his hand. 

Dean swallowed hard, “Are you going to stay here? Or are you ever planning to move back to your old town?”

Seth blinked, processing the question, “I have no intentions of ever going back there. I never want to either,” His voice getting softer while his mind went back in time, “Why?”

“Because…..I need to know if you’re --”

“Going to disappear like your ex?” Seth interrupted.

Dean looked away for a second, giving Seth his answer. Seth was taken over with sadness for Dean. What he went through was obviously painful, even now, years later. 

“C’mere….” Seth said, rolling to his side and pulling Dean into him, “I know that something wasn’t right with you and your ex. You don’t have to tell me about it, but if you ever want to, you know I’ll listen. You know I’ll never judge you.”

“How…how do you know? Did Roman tell you?”

Seth shook his head slightly confused, “If I want to know something about you, I’m asking you. Not him.”

Dean swallowed, “How….how do you know….that…..”

Seth gave him a small kiss, hoping to calm his nerves before he explained, “I have had some students that have come to me with problems before that are outside of the classroom. I know what certain things look like. There was a girl who had honors, and dropped out because her boyfriend wanted her to work so he wouldn’t have to. Some of the best papers or projects I’ve ever grades were done by students with the least amount of self confidence out of them all. When someone’s being or has been torn down, it shows.”

“Roman never knew,” Dean started quietly, “Not until after my ex left. It wasn’t physical, he knew that the second Roman saw a mark on me, it would be the end of his life. Which is why when he left, he went somewhere pretty far from here. I don’t know where, I just know that no one has seen or heard from him in years. But….you know. Nothing was ever good enough ever, no matter what it was.”

Seth felt his heart drop, seeing the utter sadness in Dean’s eyes. He gently ran his hand over Dean’s hair and gave him a reassuring look, “That’s all bullshit, you know that right?”

“Part of me does,” he answered quietly, “But part of me still hears it, you know? It doesn’t own me, or control me, or cause me to lose sleep at night or anything like that. But when it comes to things like being proud of something, or….I mean….”

“Stuff like us?” Seth smirked.

Dean couldn’t help returning the smirk before sighing, “I was always bad at that too.”

Seth’s eyes bulged, “Excuse me, but I haven’t cum so hard in my life. You better forget that shit real quick.”

Blushing, Dean replied, “You’re not the only one.”

“Oh, believe me I know,” He teased lightly, kissing Dean again and then asking, “So if things were rough, how did adopting even come up?”

“It was his idea at first actually,” Dean answered, “He wanted to be a Dad. I was on board with it, I thought it might help things, you know? But that was a stupid thought.”

“It did help things.” Seth replied.

Dean grinned, “Yeah, I guess it did.”

“Listen,” Seth started quietly, kissing Dean’s forehead and then going eye level with him, “I never ever thought that I’d move to this new town, and meet a guy that I’m already crazy about after a week.”

Dean smirked a little, “I can relate. It was more like a day and a half.”

Seth smiled and then continued, “I’m not that person, Dean. If things don’t work out, then they don’t. But I’d never just up and leave you. I am especially not going to up and move anywhere else either. I uprooted my kid once, and I have no intentions to do it again. I understand if you’re worried, but I just want you to hear me tell you, that I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.” 

He nodded, letting Seth’s words calm his anxiety, “I….you’re the only person that’s ever done this to me before. I haven’t given another guy a second look in years. You just showed up at my house, and I feel like I found this missing piece to my life.”

“I know,” Seth answered quietly, giving him a soft kiss before continuing, “All of a sudden things just felt better. Living here didn’t feel so new and scary anymore, I felt whole again, like I belong somewhere.”

“With me,” he replied, “You and Shortcake belong with me and Seb.”

A couple of tears fell down Seth’s face, concerning Dean, “Seth…I didn’t --”

“No, it’s ok,” he sniffled, “I….I just….”

“Just what?” Dean asked, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

Seth took a breath and quietly confessed, “I feel like you might not want to hear this yet, and I don’t have any explanation on how it happened so fast, but I’m so in love with you.”

Dean smiled, reaching up and holding Seth’s face so that he was looking at him, “I love you too. I never knew that it could feel like this, I always thought it wouldn’t get better than….well you know. What are you doing to me Seth?”

“What are you doing to me?” He asked back with a small chuckle.

“I have no idea what we’re doing. But I know that I fucking love it, and I don’t ever want it to stop.”


	10. Pardon Me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend keeps rolling on. *wink*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update this week, Merry Early Christmas!!!! :) Thanks for the love everyone, it's much appreciated as always!

“Sebastian……wake up……pssssst……wake up…….”

Very slowly Sebastian’s eyes opened and focused on the person in front of him. Annabelle was sitting on the side of his bed, the nightlight shining enough for him to see that she was upset.

“What happened, what’s wrong?” he asked, waking straight up and instantly going into protective mode.

Annabelle sniffled, “My tummy hurts, I miss my Daddy.”

“Oh no,” he frowned, reaching over and holding her hand, “It’s ok Annabelle, we talked to him earlier remember? He wants you to have fun with us, you don’t have to be sad.”

When a tear slid down her cheek, Sebastian went into action. He climbed from the bed and took her hand again, “C’mon, I have a plan.”

“Ok.”

Tatum wasn’t expecting to wake up with a child in bed next to her poking her nose, “Tatum. Tatum are you awake? Tatum?”

“Am now,” She groaned, rubbing her eyes and flipping her dark brown hair out of her face, “What’s wrong?”

“Annabelle has a tummy ache, cause she misses her Daddy.” Sebastian explained.

Tatum sat up and turned on the lamp, then looked next to her. Now she could clearly see both kids looking to her as if she could save the entire world, “What’s going on, Shortcake?” she asked, reaching over and pulling Annabelle into her lap.

“I miss my Daddy.” She answered, sinking into Tatum’s embrace.

“Oh, it’s ok sweetie,” Tatum soothed, running her hand down Annabelle’s hair, “Sebastian got scared sometimes and missed his Papa the first couple of times he came here with us too.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I did.” Sebastian answered.

“What’s going on you guys?” Rylan yawned, walking into the room.

“She misses her Daddy, and it’s giving her a tummy ache.” Tatum explained.

Rylan thought for a second, “Hang on,” he replied, turning and exiting the room. He returned quickly, with a can of Ginger Ale and a straw, “Here you go,” he said, opening the can and putting the straw in, then handing it to Annabelle, “This will help.”

Annabelle’s eyes widened, “Soda? But it’s so late.”

“It’s ok, this is soda for tummy aches,” Rylan explained, “You can drink it any time you need to.”

Satisfied with his answer, Annabelle sipped away at the Ginger Ale, “Yummy.” 

Tatum smirked, still holding her securely in her lap, “So tomorrow’s going to be lots of fun. Your Daddy’s sure going to want to hear all about it, you know. He wants you to have fun.”

Annabelle stopped drinking and nodded, “I know.”

“Besides, him and my Papa are having fun,” Sebastian replied, “Remember when we talked to them earlier? They said they were eating pizza and watching movies and stuff. We don’t have to worry about them.”

“I know,” She replied, “You’re right.”

“Feeling any better?” Rylan asked.

When Annabelle tried to answer, it was interrupted by a burp that caused her eyes to widen, “Oh!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth, “Pardon me!” 

The other three kids couldn’t help bursting out in laughter. They couldn’t comprehend how such a little girl could let out a burp so loud.

“I bet your tummy feels a lot better now.” Tatum giggled.

Annabelle nodded, “Yes, it does. Thank you.”

Rylan smirked, “No problem.”

“What’s this a party?” A half asleep voice asked from the door.

“Sorry Daddy,” Tatum said, looking to Roman, “We didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“Annabelle had a tummy ache,” Sebastian explained, “But she feels better now.”

Roman looked to Annabelle, “You ok Shortcake?”

She nodded and smiled, “I had soda.”

He tried to hard not to chuckle, but he couldn’t help it. This sweet little girl in her unicorn pajamas sat in Tatum’s lap, holding a can of soda and smiling innocently. How was he supposed to keep a straight face?

“Did you hear her burp, Dad?” Rylan asked.

Roman’s face fell, “That was her?! I thought that was you!”

Giggles and laughter filled the room, while Roman stood there in disbelief, “My goodness little girl! That was a good one!”

“She was so polite about it too,” Tatum laughed, “Excused herself and everything.”

“Maybe she should teach Sebastian.” Roman teased.

“Hey!’ He exclaimed, folding his arms.

Roman gave him a wink and then turned his attention back to Annabelle, “So you feel better now then?”

She nodded, “Yes, I feel better Uncle Roman.”

“Good.” he smiled.

“I just told her she doesn’t have to worry about her Daddy, because him and my Papa are having lots of fun.” Sebastian explained. 

Roman closed his eyes and smirked to himself, “Yeah, they’re having TONS of fun, don’t worry.”

***

Seth’s eyes fluttered open sometime in the middle of the night. He blinked a few times, then smiled when he felt Dean wrapped in his arms and sleeping away. He turned and kissed the top of Dean’s head, letting out a content sigh while his brain retraced the last few hours. Seth had no idea how many times he came, how many times they screamed each other’s names, and how many times they made each other sex drunk. 

At that moment, he realized something that he hadn’t had yet, and really fucking wanted. Just the thought of Dean pounding into him caused a tent to form in his boxers. Well, a larger one at least. Seth decided that he had to have it, immediately. Very carefully he shifted around so that he was overtop of Dean. Slowly, he began leaving soft kisses on the side of Dean’s neck. 

Seth nipped and kissed from his neck down to his chest and back up. Dean started to stir slightly, prompting Seth to whisper in his ear, “Baby, wake up…”

“Mmmmmm,” Dean mumbled, his arms slowly wrapping around Seth as he woke up, “Good morning.”

Seth chuckled into Dean’s cheek, ‘Hardly morning, but it’s definitely good.”

“Oh really?” Dean asked, his eyes opening and focusing on a smirking Seth, “What happened?”

“I woke up next to you.”

Dean couldn’t help smiling, as Seth’s words settled somewhere deep inside of him, “I wish I could do it every day.”

“We will,” Seth replied, giving him a small kiss and then grinding his hard on against him, “Just like this.”

Dean smirked as his already rising cock began to throb, “Feels like you have a problem.”

“Yeah well, I woke up to the most amazingly hot thought.” Seth replied, before licking at Dean’s ear lobe.

“Like what?” Dean giggled.

“You….” Seth paused to give a small nip at the outside of Dean’s ear, “Fucking me into this mattress.”

Dean’s eyes widened and he froze. He wanted what? No, no, why would he want….?

When Dean didn’t respond right away, Seth looked at him, “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

Dean swallowed hard, “I’m not….I’m not good at it.”

Seth blinked, as he tried to understand, “You mean you don’t like it?”

Dean loved being on top, there was no question. But there was so much more to the concept, “I’m not good at it. I suck at it, I’m awful.”

“Says who?”

When Dean glanced away, Seth knew right away that it was because of his ex, “Listen to me,” he started, leaning in and kissing him softly, “I know that’s bullshit. We both do.”

Dean was quiet for a moment while he tried to get his thoughts together. If he told Seth everything, would Seth think he was pathetic? Pathetic for letting someone else control him the way he let his ex? Seth knew what Dean allowed him to know so far. But there was more, and as apprehensive as he felt about telling Seth, something inside him knew it was alright.

“Dean?” Seth asked softly, shifting them to their sides and securing his grip around his waist, “What’s…what’s going on?”

“Um,” he answered, looking down, “I just….”

“Hey,” Seth interrupted, “Look at me.”

Dean sighed and did what Seth asked. He was immediately met with reassuring and understanding eyes, ready for anything he had to say.

“I was just there,” He started to explain, “Just there when he wanted it. I was never good enough to be anything more, ever. His little bitch. I was just there when his side piece wasn’t. 

Seth’s eyes shot wide, “Wha…whe….oh my God he did…wait, and he was cheating?” 

He shrugged a little, “After awhile you just know things. He made me feel stupid all the time. But I don’t think I was a stupid as he thought.”

“No, you’re absolutely NOT,” Seth choked, trying to keep his own emotions in check, “Dean, please tell me that you don’t believe that. That you weren’t good enough. You’re fucking perfect to me.”

“It’s just…when you get convinced of something for a very long time, you really believe it, you know?”

Seth nodded, leaning in and leaving a long kiss on Dean’s forehead, “I know. I know baby, I know. I’m so sorry that all of that happened to you, but it’s over and nothing from back then matters. It’s all us now, and believe me baby you are the best I’ve ever had.”

Dean smirked, letting Seth’s words circle in his mind, “Oh yeah?”

“What?” he asked, pulling away and looking at him with a smile, “The last however many hours weren’t enough justification? My dick woke me up, Dean.”

Dean rocked his head back and laughed, giving Seth a chance to leave kisses on his throat. This made Dean giggle, and roll onto his back. Seth crawled over him, giving him a couple of small kisses and then reassuring, “Listen, if you don’t wanna top I’m ok with that. But I don’t want you feel that way because of the lies you were told.”

“What if it sucks?”

“I won’t let it.” He replied with a mischievous smirk.

Dean couldn’t help grinning back, feeling reassured by Seth’s complete confidence in him.

“Just do what you’re comfortable with,” Seth said softly, running his hand over Dean’s hair, “That’s all you need to do. If at any point it becomes too much, then just tell me ok? I won’t love you any less, I promise.”

The surge of heat that went through Dean’s body at Seth’s words gave him the spark he needed. He smashed their mouths together, pulling Seth down into him the tightest that he could. He squeezed onto Seth’s ass with both hands, then started pushing down on the waistband of his boxers. Seth broke the kiss, quickly ridding himself and Dean of the only material that kept them separated. Back to Dean’s lips he went, but was surprised when Dean pulled away and smirked, putting two of his fingers on Seth’s lips, “Get’em wet.” 

Seth moaned in approval, opening his mouth and letting Dean insert his fingers. Dean smirked, watching Seth mimic the blow job he got hours earlier. He pulled his fingers out, then reached around and pressed in on Seth’s pucker. Seth whimpered in anticipation, while Dean continued to tease with his wet fingers.

“Dean,” Seth mumbled into his neck, “Please….”

Hearing Seth asking for it made Dean’s confidence grow further. He flipped them over, before grabbing the lube and coating his fingers. Working Seth open was the hottest thing that Dean may have ever seen. Seth’s perfect dick stood straight, dribbling pre-cum while Dean finger-fucked him into tears. The more Seth begged, the harder Dean got, although he had no idea it was possible at that point.

“DEAN!” Seth heaved, “OH GOD, PLEASE DEAN PLEASE!”

Dean smirked, withdrawing his fingers and then kissing the inside of Seth’s thighs. Seth was a shaking begging mess already, and Dean had only used his fingers so far. He teasingly swallowed down Seth’s dick, bobbing twice just to hear him scream. With a smile, he crawled up over Seth and breathed in his ear, “Ride me, baby?”

“GOD YES.” Seth blurted out.

It happened to be what Seth had in mind, before Dean nearly made him forget his own name. Dean sat back against the headboard and tugged on Seth, “Get over here.”

Demanding Dean. If it was possible for Dean to get any hotter in Seth’s eyes, it had just happened. The tone of his voice sent a shiver through Seth, and caused his body to move on its own. Watching Dean coat his dick with lube made Seth let out another moan of approval, knowing what was next. Dean pulled him over his lap, smashing their lips and teasingly letting his cock hover just outside of Seth’s overly ready pucker.

“Waiting for you….” Dean taunted.

The sound that came out of Seth’s mouth when he sunk down on Dean’s dick sent tingling waves through Dean’s body, “Oh my God,” Seth cried out, slowly getting himself adjusted, “So fucking fullll…..”

“You like it that way?” Dean asked, giving a small push up into him.

“YES!” 

Liking it was a complete understatement. Seth had found his new addiction in life. Being held in Dean’s arms, knowing that there wasn’t a single soul in the world that could touch him had become one of Seth’s favorite feelings. But being in that same place, with their mouths meshing together, bodies connected, and Dean possessively pounding him into tears was a fix he was never going to give up.

“Slow down.” He managed to choke out.

“You ok? What’s wrong?” Dean asked, concerned.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Seth smiled, “I just don’t wanna cum yet.”

It was the truth, and it made Dean smile back, “Oh, ok then.”

“You ok?” Seth asked, leaving a couple of kisses on his lips, while Dean continued his snail pace.

“God yes.” He answered, his eyes rolling slightly.

“You wanna try another way, or are you good?”

With a mischievous smirk, he thrusted hard up into Seth, “I think I like this.”

“OH!” Seth answered, starting to grind up and down on Dean’s dick, “In that case.”

“Not fair.” Dean squeaked, gripping Seth’s hips.

“Then do something about.” He taunted.

Dean’s eyes shot open, and he nearly knocked Seth right off of him. He flipped Seth onto his stomach, and gave his ass as sharp slap.

“OH MY GODDDDDD.” Seth whined into the blanket.

“Someone liked that.” Dean teased, slapping him again just as hard.

“FUCK!”

Satisfied with his teasing, he guided Seth to his hands and knees, then plunged into him from behind. 

“SH-FUC-SHITTTTTT!” Seth cried out, his eyes rolling back when Dean began a fierce pace.

“What was that?”

“I don’t fucking know!” Seth blurted out, beginning to see actual stars behind his eyelids, “JUST DON’T STOP!”

Dean wouldn’t have dreamt of it. Instead, he pulled Seth up so that his back was flush with Dean’s chest. Gripping across him tightly, he murmured in his ear, “I want those lips.”

Seth was in no position to disagree, turning his head and connecting their lips in a needy deep kiss. Dean’s hand slid down Seth’s throbbing practically begging cock, wrapping his hand around it and stroking slowly. It was instant at that point when Seth spit out the kiss and screamed Dean’s name. His body shook, then practically melted in Dean’s arms while his vision whited out and he exploded onto Dean’s hand and the bed. 

“Just like that baby,” Dean murmured in his ear, “So good.”

The only thing Seth could do was whimper in agreement while a couple tears formed in the corners of his eyes. 

“So close,” Dean said still holding Seth tightly, “God damn I wanna fill you up so bad.”

“Yessss.” Seth managed to squeak out.

“Shit…” Dean moaned, almost at his tipping point, “Fuck-fuck-fuck.”

Seth turned his head, reached around and crashing their lips together again. Dean spun out almost instantly, overflowing Seth with his seed and moaning into his mouth. Both of them collapsed back down onto the bed, completely wrecked and trying to hold on to however much of each other that they could. 

“I…” Seth started, his face resting in Dean’s chest, “You said you weren’t good at that.”

Dean shrugged a little, kissing the top of Seth’s head, “I didn’t…I mean I dunno.”

“Do you have any idea what you just did to me?” Seth asked, running his fingers up and down Dean’s upper body.

“I have a small idea.”

“I’m going to need that, a lot more this weekend. Please.”

“Only because you said the magic word…”


	11. You're the Strongest, Dean.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It just kills me a little that all of this has happened to you. Like, it hurts me too. How....shit, Dean you’re the fucking strongest person I know, you know that?”
> 
> Dean shrugged, “Not really.”
> 
> Seth squeezed him tightly, “You really are,” he reinforced, kissing his forehead, “I don’t know if I’d still be standing after that.”
> 
> He held onto Seth securely and answered, “Roman and Gemma were all I had to help me, and they did.”
> 
> “Now you have me too.” Seth replied quietly.
> 
> Dean smiled, leaning in and giving him a kiss, “I know, and I love you for it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *waves like a maniac*
> 
> Hi!! I hope you guys like this new chapter! As always, thanks for the love, it's appreciated soooo much! Happy New Year everyone!!!!

If never getting out of bed was an option, Seth and Dean would have chosen it right away. Unfortunately for both of them, their stomachs over ruled that possibility. Dean was sitting up in bed on his laptop looking over his sales from the day before. Seth was cuddled at his side, Dean’s free arm around him while he scrolled through the spreadsheet on his screen.

“How does all of that work?” Seth asked, keeping his head resting on Dean’s chest.

Dean began explaining each column on the spreadsheet, and how it was incorporated into his sales. This included ordering food and supplies, paying his employees, along with bills and general maintenance. 

“Wow,” Seth said, still absorbing everything that Dean went into detail about, “I understand it, but at the same time I could never figure out the math and the formulas for it.”

Dean chuckled, “It’s not so bad.”

“See?” Seth smirked, turning his head and leaving a kiss on Dean’s arm, “All my smarty pants degrees can’t help me figure this shit out.”

“Fine,” Dean replied, “You win.”

Seth giggled a little, watching as Dean typed in a few numbers, switching between the spreadsheet and sales reports.

“So I’m going out on a limb here and saying that green is good, and red isn’t?” Seth asked, noticing the different colors in the numbers on the sheet.

Dean nodded, “Yep. The number at the bottom of each day listed shows whether I made my goal for the day or not.”

Each day was green with the exception of Wednesday, “Why’s Wednesday red?”

“Power went out, remember?”

“Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you lost sales.”

“Not at all,” he replied, before pointing at his sales goal for the end of the week, “Today should make up for it though, so Roman won’t freak out too much.”

Seth laughed, while Dean sent an email to Rocco with the spreadsheet attached and then closed his laptop, “I dunno about you, but I’m hungry.”

He nodded, “Starving.”

“Lucky Charms or Froot Loops?” Dean asked with a smirk.

Seth smirked back, moving the laptop out of the way and rolling onto Dean. He leaned in and kissed the side of Dean’s neck, starting a trail down his chest and to his boxers, “I’m kind of hungry for something else first.”

 

***

From the moment that Annabelle took her first step into the sand, she knew that the beach was going to be her favorite place for the rest of her life. Just in that first step, her world changed. The sun, the water, the feeling of the sand, the way it made her smile for no reason at all. There was a small problem though.

“You don’t know how to swim?” Tatum asked, as she set out her beach blanket, “Really?”

“Really.” Annabelle said sadly.

“You’ve never been swimming in a pool before?”

She shook her head, “Nope. No pool.”

“Oh,” She replied, looking to Rylan, “Well, we’ll just have to teach her, right?"

"Right." Her brother answered.

“Is it scary?” Annabelle asked, putting her beach towel down on Tatum’s blanket.

“Nope, it’s fun.” Sebastian said, “We’ll teach you, Annabelle, you’ll like it.”

Annabelle took a deep breath, “Ok!”

Tatum giggled at Annabelle’s enthusiasm, it was just too cute. When she took her shirt off, revealing her swim suit, Annabelle’s eyes widened, “Wow! I hope I look pretty like you when I get to wear a swim suit like that.”

Tatum laughed, looking down at her purple flowered tankini, “Well thanks. Yours is super cute too.”

She giggled, inspecting her pink two piece with purple and silver unicorns, “I really like it.” 

“Annabelle, Sebastian, come here let me put sunscreen on you.” Gemma called, sitting down in her beach chair and going through her bag.

Roman put up the brightly colored beach umbrella and looked to Rylan, “Good?”

“Yup.” Rylan replied.

“Why do we need this?” Annabelle asked, as Gemma put the lotion on her.

“So we don’t get sunburn,” Sebastian replied, “It hurts.”

Her eyes widened, “Really?”

“Well when someone doesn’t listen,” Gemma started, “Not going to mention names, Seb, and doesn’t put any on, they’ll get burned. Then they cry about it.”

“I didn’t cry.” Sebastian frowned.

Tatum laughed, “Yes you did.”

“You guys ready?” Roman asked, pulling off his shirt.

“I dunno, those waves look scary.” Annabelle replied.

“Nah,” Roman chuckled, walking over and picking her up, “It’ll be fun.”

She took a deep breath, “Ok. Let’s go.”

 

***

Early in the evening, Dean and Seth finally got up for an extended period of time. The Lucky Charms breakfast break only lasted long enough for them to swallow the cereal and then get back in bed. Now they laid on the couch together, with the TV serving as background noise while waiting for their take out to be delivered.

“Question,” Seth said, kissing Dean’s forehead, “You haven’t mentioned your parents before, where do they live and stuff?”

Dean sighed to himself. He knew the subject was eventually going to come up, but not during a perfect cuddle session, “Ask Roman.” 

Seth blinked, “Huh?”

“He might know.” he replied, looking down. 

“You,” Seth paused, trying to think out his words, “You don’t talk to them?”

“Not since around the time that Seb came along.”

“Hey,” Seth said softly, “Look at me.”

Dean did as he asked, and Seth continued, “Can I know why?”

Dean sighed, “They loved my ex more than they loved me.”

Seth’s jaw dropped, “What?!”

He shrugged, “He was perfect, the divorce was my fault because I wasn’t a good enough husband, and I was an idiot for adopting Seb on my own.”

The color had sucked out of Seth’s face as he absorbed the explanation that Dean gave him, “Dean, no. No, that’s not….”

“Seth it’s ok.”

“NO it’s NOT ok,” Seth choked, finally able to make sentences again, “Dean, it’s not ok at all. Did they know that he was cheating on you? Did they know what he was putting you through?”

“Yeah,” Dean answered simply, “And it was my fault that it was happening, because I wasn’t a good enough husband.”

“Jesus fuck,” Seth breathed, “Dean I’m-”

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” Dean interrupted, “You didn’t do anything wrong, you don’t have to be sorry. The last I heard they moved two towns over. The last time I saw them, they came to Roman’s while I was moving in. They wanted to know if I had actually gone through with the adoption. When I told them that I had, they belittled me and then told me that I was an idiot. That I’d never get anywhere in life now, and that I’d never be able to give a child any kind of life either. Then Gemma threw them out. Haven’t seen or heard from them since.”

Seth couldn’t process anything at first. How could his parents do that to their OWN son?! How could they treat him so badly after everything he had gone through?! Then basically shit on him for making the decision to adopt a child? To better that child’s life? 

“Seth it’s ok,” Dean said, “I’m not fucked up about it, I don’t cry on holidays because I don’t have them, I don’t even think about them on their birthdays anymore.”

“That’s not the point,” Seth replied, “They shouldn’t have done that. Parents aren’t supposed to do that shit. Even at their kid’s very lowest in life, parents should still at least try. You didn’t do anything wrong! I mean sure I guess maybe I’m a hypocrite for saying this because my parents gave up on Tori, but you didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Seth I know,” He said calmly, “And you’re not a hypocrite ok? You’re right, parents aren’t supposed to do that. And you and me? We’re never going to, no matter what bullshit lessons we’ve learned from our parents. We’re better than that, ok? I know that.”

Seth closed his eyes and sighed to himself. Dean had no idea that Seth was going to get as upset as he did, and it unnerved him a bit, “Listen,” Dean started, “I didn’t mean to get you -”

“I’m fine,” Seth replied, opening his eyes back up, “It just kills me a little that all of this has happened to you. Like, it hurts me too. How, shit, Dean you’re the fucking strongest person I know, you know that?”

Dean shrugged, “Not really.”

Seth squeezed him tightly, “You really are,” he reinforced, kissing his forehead, “I don’t know if I’d still be standing after that.”

He held onto Seth securely and answered, “Roman and Gemma were all I had to help me, and they did.”

“Now you have me too.” Seth replied quietly.

Dean smiled, leaning in and giving him a kiss, “I know, and I love you for it.”

Before Seth could respond, his phone went off with a face time from Gemma. He picked it up off of the table and answered, to see her smiling from the other end, “Hey guys!”

“Hi Gemma.” Seth and Dean smiled back.

“Having fun?” Dean asked.

“Loads, we’re shopping at the outlets. Listen, Seth I have to ask you something, but Annabelle can’t know that I’m calling you.”

“I’m already confused.” Dean replied.

“Just listen,” Gemma answered with a half giggle, “I’m hiding from them, so Annabelle doesn’t know I’m calling you. We’re out shopping, and Tatum is getting her second holes pierced in her ears. Annabelle wants to get her ears pierced, but of course I have to ask you first. She wants to surprise you, so I have to pretend I didn’t talk to you about it.”

Seth blinked while Dean smiled, “That’s cute, Gemma.”

“Uh,” Seth started, trying to process everything, “Ok wait. My kid? Wants to get her ears pierced? You sure it’s my kid?”

“Unless Annabelle morphed into someone else, yes it’s your kid.” Gemma laughed.

Seth looked to Dean, wanting his opinion on it, “Well,” Dean started, “I mean most little girls have them. If you don’t like them, she can take them out and then they’ll close up.”

He nodded, “Ok. Gemma can you PLEASE explain to her everything she has to do as far as taking care of them? Make sure she knows that it’s a lot of responsibility?”

Gemma smiled, “Of course, and so will Tatum.”

“Send me secret pictures,” Dean replied, “I wanna see!”

“No!” Gemma scolded, “Neither of you can see until we get home, ok?”

Dean laughed while Seth smiled and shook his head, “Good luck. Please don’t let her cry.”

“She’ll be fine,” She reassured, “We’ll talk to you guys later ok?”

“Ok,” Seth replied, “Bye Gemma.”

“Bye!”

Seth ended the called and looked at Dean, “My kid is getting her ears pierced. I’m not ready for this, Dean.”

“It’s ok,” he laughed, “She’s a girl, that’s the kind of stuff they do.”

“She’s going to come home a completely different kid isn’t she?”

“No,” Dean replied, “Same kid.”

“I feel like in the last week she’s suddenly grown up.”

“She’s just doing new things,” Dean said, “You told me yourself that there was NOTHING to do in your own town. Besides that, you were teaching full time and trying to raise a kid by yourself. It’s not like you had all the time in the world to do things with her. It’s ok, we want her to do new things.”

Seth smiled, “WE do?”

“Yes,” Dean smiled back, “WE do.”

Seth couldn’t lie, he loved how that sounded. Someone else that cared about his kid was a new concept to him. It wasn’t just him against the world anymore.

***

“Hi Daddy!” 

“Hi Papa!”

Annabelle and Sebastian’s faces were squished into the screen of Roman’s phone, smiling brightly at their Dads. Seth and Dean sat together on the couch, listening to them ramble on about everything they did that day.

“I learned how to swim in the ocean!” Annabelle exclaimed.

“You did?!” Seth and Dean answered with smiles.

“Uh huh,” She replied, “And I found sea shells, and Uncle Roman built the BIGGEST sand castle EVER, and I swam a lot!”

“Yeah, she’s good at it!” Sebastian added, making Annabelle giggle.

Tatum had put Annabelle’s hair in pigtail braids that sat on her shoulders, keeping her new earrings out of view. Seth couldn’t help smiling, just knowing how hard it was for her to keep her little secret.

“We went fishing,” Sebastian said, “While the girls went shopping. I didn’t catch any but Rylan did!”

“Yeah?” Dean asked, wide eyed, “How big?”

“It was a baby,” Sebastian replied, “Uncle Roman caught a shoe.”

Seth and Dean burst out into laughter while Roman could be heard in the background “It was Under Armour this time and not Adidas again!”

“Is this a common occurrence?” Seth asked. 

“Yes,” Sebastian giggled, “He always catches crazy stuff!”

“But no fish, huh?” Seth asked.

“Sometimes.” Sebastian replied.

“Not today.” Dean smirked.

“Nope.”

“Daddy guess what!” Annabelle said.

“What’s that?” Seth asked.

“I got a new dress! To wear on Thanksgiving!” She smiled.

“You…wait what?” Seth asked, confused.

“Oh,” Dean smirked, “Did I forget to tell you about that?”

“You didn’t tell him?!” Roman asked from behind the kids.

Dean looked at Seth, “We’re going to Roman’s on Thanksgiving.”

“We are?” Seth replied.

“I mean, yeah unless you have somewhere else to go.”

“We don’t!” Annabelle smiled.

Seth closed his eyes and laughed, “Alright. Sounds like a plan.”

After a couple more minutes of the kids rambling about their day, it was bedtime for them. With kisses blown from each end of the phone and multiple “I love you” ’s, the call ended. Seth immediately elbowed Dean, “You forgot to tell me about Thanksgiving, huh?”

“Honest mistake,” He smiled, “I swear.”

“After one week I’m invited to Thanksgiving?” Seth asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

“If you don’t want to come, you don’t HAVE to. Don’t feel obligated just because you were invited.”

“It’s just kind of crazy,” Seth replied, “I just, I dunno. I have to get used to having good people in my life. It’s kind of new still I guess.”

Dean nodded, “I know. I understand. But if it means anything, Roman doesn’t just let anyone in. Sure, he has his parties where he invites his doctor friends from work and a few neighbors and what not. But that doesn’t mean he let’s them in. He’s a good judge of character. He started to pick up on my parents attitude change before I even did. He’s like half blood hound or something, I don’t know. But he had you at his house for 5 minutes, and he already knew that you were a keeper for me. That you and Annabelle are good people, and that you guys are starting over. Anything that includes me and Seb, now includes you and her. Unless that’s not ok with you.”

It took everything inside of Seth to hold back the tears that he felt threatening. He swallowed hard and answered, “It’s actually pretty fucking amazing.”

***

Monday morning came faster than Dean and Seth had ever wanted it to. It was actually early Monday afternoon when Dean’s eyes fluttered open. Still engulfed in Seth’s arms, Dean grinned to himself at the feeling. Then a realization hit him and he shook Seth awake, “Seth, get up.”

“I’m up.” He mumbled.

“You’re late, you -”

“I cancelled my classes,” He answered, opening his eyes slowly and giving him a smirk, “Don’t tell on me.”

“Are you serious?!” Dean smiled.

“Yeah,” he smirked, “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You almost gave me a heart attack.” Dean laughed.

“Now I know you’re a good alarm clock,” Seth answered, pulling him in, “But I can’t do it anymore unless it’s an emergency. I’m still new there, so I can’t make it a thing.”

“Today was an emergency,” Dean said innocently, “I might die if I don’t get your dick again. That’s an emergency.”

Seth rocked his head back and laughed, “Definite emergency.”

***

Annabelle and Sebastian were sad to see their weekend at the beach end. At the same time, they couldn’t wait to get home and see their Dads. They were currently in the middle row of Roman’s SUV, watching Hotel Transylvania on Sebastian’s tablet.

When both of them started giggling loudly, Gemma turned around, “What’s so funny?” she asked playfully.

“They zinged.” Sebastian smiled.

“Like our Dads.” Annabelle said, looking up at Gemma.

From the seat behind her, Tatum choked on her soda, “What?”

“Our Dad’s zinged,” Sebastian replied, “At my party.”

“Yup,” Annabelle said matter-of-factly, “It was pretty cool.”

“What exactly happened?” Roman asked, keeping his eye on the road and trying to figure out what they were talking about.

“They zinged.” They both answered.

“Just like Johnny and Mavis!” Annabelle added.

“So,” Rylan started, “They stared at each other like idiots?”

“No,” Sebastian replied, “Their eyes did that thing, and then they froze and stuff.”

“Exactly!” Annabelle exclaimed.

Gemma smiled, “Doesn’t that mean they fell in love too?”

“Yup.” They both replied, looking at her.

Still smiling she said, “I think you’re right.”

“You do?” They both asked.

“Yeah,” Gemma replied, “It sounds like that’s EXACTLY what happened.”

***

The sun was starting to set while Seth and Dean sat outside on the porch swing. Very shortly, everyone would be home from the beach and their weekend extravaganza would be over.

“So, did you happen to think about what we’re telling the kids and when?” Dean asked, kissing Seth’s cheek.

“Oh, I have to figure it out?” Seth joked.

“You’re the smarty pants.” Dean teased back.

Seth couldn’t help chuckle at the comment before thinking, “Ok so, tomorrow night we’re doing dinner at the restaurant, since we’re not doing it tonight, right?”

“Yes.” 

“Ok, so we’ll be together then. I think they should see us together a lot, just hanging out, and get used to seeing it. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, instead of just dropping it on them out of the blue.” 

“We just have to come up with ways to hang out this week.”

“I’m sure we can.”

“Wednesday is tent night,” Seth smiled, “You can come over and build tents with us in the living room.”

Dean smiled, “That sounds fun. I actually have a tent if you want me to bring it.”

“That sounds good.”

“See how this week goes, then talk to them this weekend?”

“I like that plan.”

Roman honking as he pulled into the driveway startled Dean and Seth from their conversation. Sebastian and Annabelle sprung from the vehicle the second that Roman had it in park. Seth and Dean barely had enough time to stand up before their kids were in their arms and rambling in excitement.

“Daddy I missed you!” Annabelle exclaimed, holding around Seth’s neck for dear life.

“I missed you too baby, did you have fun?” 

“Uh huh!” She replied, pulling away so she could look at him, “Do I look any different?!”

“I’m not sure,” Seth replied, glancing to Dean and Seb, then back to his daughter, “I think you grew a little!”

“I did?!” She asked, wide eyed.

“I think she did.” Dean added.

“What about me?” Sebastian asked.

“You grew last week.” Dean teased.

Sebastian gave him a playful glare and then looked to Seth, “Besides her growing! Does she look any different?”

“Hmmmm,” Seth replied, “You definitely got sun tan.”

“Besides that!” Annabelle giggled.

“Oh my gosh,” Dean played along, “Seth do you see those things?”

“What things?” Seth questioned, trying to keep a straight face.

“Annabelle, what are those pretty little things in your ears?” Dean asked.

Seth gasped and his eyes widened, “You got your ears pierced?!”

“YES!” she cried out in excitement.

“Wow!”

“Daddy do you like them?” She asked, hoping for his approval, “I can take them out if you don’t.”

“I love them,” Seth replied, looking at the gold flower studs that were in his daughter’s ear lobes, “They are so pretty.”

“Tatum helped me pick them out!” She smiled proudly.

“She was a champ,” Tatum smiled, walking over with Annabelle’s bag, “She didn’t even flinch.”

“Not one bit.” Gemma added.

“Did it hurt?” Seth asked her.

“Nope.” She smiled back.

“That’s my girl.”

The rest of the night was spent with Seth and Dean looking at all of the pictures and videos that Roman and Gemma sent them. Tons of them from the boardwalk, with the kids riding rides and playing games.

“I can’t believe she rode a rollercoaster,” Seth smiled, “Wow.”

“They all did,” Dean chuckled, “It’s not like she went alone.”

“True.”

They continued flipping through, both laughed wildly at Sebastian’s attempts at boogie boarding. One resulting in him almost completely losing his swim shorts. Roman rode a few waves with Annabelle, her giggling wildly the entire time. 

“Your kid swimming is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Dean smiled, while they watched more videos.

Seth smiled, watching Annabelle swimming back and forth between Roman and Tatum, “I would have been a nervous wreck if I was there.”

“Hence the fact that you weren’t.” Dean teased.

“So, she learned to swim, rode a roller coaster, got her ears pierced, has a new dress that I could have never picked out on my own and now has a sun tan. She’s a different kid.”

Dean nudged him and smiled, “You’re being dramatic.”

Seth chuckled, “Am not.”

The next video was of Annabelle getting her ears pierced. Just as Tatum and Gemma described, Annabelle didn’t flinch in the least, sitting there as if nothing was going on. 

“She gets it from me.” Dean teased again.

“I’m inclined to agree, because she sure didn’t get it from me.” Seth smiled back.

Dean smiled, before looking at the time and sighing, “Almost bedtime.”

Seth let out a small groan, “Is it really all over?”

“I know,” Dean replied, giving him a long kiss above his ear, “You like Dr. Seuss right?”

He chuckled, “Of course, why?”

“Today was good, today was fun….tomorrow is another one.”


	12. Love is Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another week goes by, and things continue to grow stronger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! :)  
> Hey guys! I hope you like this update. If you're feeling froggy and have a second, drop a line and let me know what you think of the direction I'm heading. Is there enough fluff? Not enough? Too much? Enough Angst? Smut? No? I like getting opinions, so thanks in advance! :)

“Bombs away!”

For the second time, Annabelle had taken a small handful of her French fries and dunked them into the pile of ketchup on Sebastian’s plate. Both of them burst out in giggles, before Annabelle ate the fries. It was dinnertime at Dean’s restaurant, and while everyone else sat around eating their food, Annabelle and Sebastian played games with theirs.

It didn’t help that Rylan who was sitting next to Sebastian was laughing along with them. Tatum tried her best not to, but while she sat next to Annabelle she could hardly contain herself. When Sebastian started making his French fries talk, Tatum completely lost it.

Across from them, Seth was trying to keep a straight face while Dean rolled his eyes a little, “Seb. The Fries are going to get mad if you don’t eat them soon. Same with your burger.”

Annabelle took a fry and made it “walk” up to Sebastian’s fry, “Uh oh,” she said in a small voice, “Don’t get mad.”

No one could keep back their giggles at that point, including Roman and Gemma, “You better stop playing with your food,” Gemma smirked, “You don’t want a cold burger and fries, silly.”

Sebastian frowned while Annabelle made her French fry scold, “Stop talking, you’ll get cold!”

“Annabelle.” Seth said, raising his eyebrows at her.

She immediately sat up straight, and quietly began to eat her food again. After a few bites, she looked back up at her dad, and he gave her a wink. She smirked in between her chewing and winked back. Sebastian had stopped playing with his fries, but it didn’t keep him from dunking them into Annabelle’s ketchup.

“Seb, you have your own ketchup.” Dean said, trying to figure out his logic.

“It’s ok,” Annabelle said, “I took a bunch of his. He can have some of mine.”

Dean turned to Seth quietly, “Kids are so weird.”

“Apparently there are rules to ketchup that we don’t know.” Seth smiled. 

“Oooops!” Annabelle said a few minutes after she was done, when she accidentally knocked her fork on the floor.

“I’ll get it.” Sebastian offered, climbing off of his chair and under the table to retrieve the utensil. 

After he grabbed it from the floor, he looked up and his eyes widened at the sight before him. His Papa and Seth were holding hands under the table. Their fingers were interlocked, and their hands were resting on Seth’s thigh. Sebastian was jostled from his shock when Annabelle tapped him, “Did you find it?” she asked, now crouched next to him. 

He turned to her and then pointed at his discovery. Annabelle’s eyes widened and she gasped slightly. 

“Shhhh,” Sebastian hissed, nudging her away so that their cover didn’t get blown, “C’mon.”

They both popped back up to their chairs, looking innocently. Sebastian looked to Roman and asked, “Can we go play games now?”

“You done eating?” Roman replied.

Both kids looked down to their empty plates and then nodded to him. Roman smirked to them, “Let’s go.”

***

“Uncle Roman!” Annabelle hissed, tugging on his arm once they were in the arcade.

“Annabelle!” He jokingly hissed back.

“I gotta tell you something!” She said quietly, motioning for him to kneel down to her level.

“Ok,” He said lowly, kneeling down, “But why are we whispering?”

“Because,” Sebastian answered, “No one can hear this.”

“What about me?” Tatum asked into Sebastian’s ear.

He jumped, not realizing she was behind him, “Ok fine! But no one else can hear!” 

“I don’t think they can.” Roman smiled.

Sebastian and Annabelle shared a look and then glanced back to Roman, “Ok.”

“They were holding hands,” Sebastian blurted, “Under the table, we saw them!”

Roman’s eyes widened in fake-surprise, “No way!”

“WAY!”

“I saw too,” Tatum fibbed, just to add into the kids excitement, “I dropped my phone and saw when I picked it up.”

“See!” Annabelle said to Roman.

“This is good though, right?” Roman asked them.

“Yes!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“Uh huh!” Annabelle smiled.

Roman looked up to Tatum, giving her a wink and looking back to Annabelle and Sebastian, “Just keep it quiet ok? Let’s see how long it takes them to tell us, ok?”

“Ok!” Sebastian replied.

Annabelle giggled, “I like this game.”

“Sure, the PG version.” Tatum joked.

“Tatum Marie.” Roman shot with his teeth clamped.

“Sorry!” She smiled, trying not to burst into laughter.

Tatum didn’t know EVERY last little detail about what was going on. She wasn’t naïve though, and had a pretty good idea about what went on between Seth and Dean that past weekend. She had a few questions that she asked her parents, and they were completely honest with her about it. The only thing she cared about was her Uncle Dean finally being happy. Tatum remembered bits and pieces about Dean’s ex-husband from when she was growing up. As she got older, more details were revealed to her about the exact situation. It infuriated her beyond belief that ANYONE could be so cruel. Especially to Dean, her Godfather, who always looked out for her and her brother, and who Tatum thought the entire world of. 

Seeing Annabelle and Sebastian giggling in excitement over their new discovery made Tatum’s entire day. Sometimes she felt like she could be fueled just by the sound of their laughter. While she watched her dad putting tokens into the air hockey table, she glanced out into the restaurant. Gemma was sitting at the table with Rylan alone, with no Dean or Seth in sight.

Tatum closed her eyes and smirked, “And people say teenagers are bad….”

***

“I feel like this is going to be our new hang out spot on dinner nights.” Seth smiled, while Dean closed and locked the door to the storage floor.

Dean smirked back, “I mean, I don’t even think that they’ll notice we’re gone.”

Seth chuckled as Dean walked across the hardwood floor and put his arms around his waist, “Not at all,” Seth answered, giving him a small kiss, “Which is perfectly fine, because I want some boyfriend time.”

“Boyfriend?” Dean smiled, pulling him closer, “I like how that sounds.”

“Me too. Unless you happen to have another idea.” He teased.

“I have ideas,” Dean replied, leaving a long soft kiss on Seth’s lips, “But they’re slightly off topic.”

Seth raised his eyebrows, “Dean, we’re downstairs under your store right now.”

“I didn’t notice.” he answered sarcastically, walking backwards and pulling Seth with him.

“Where are you taking me?” he laughed, being pulled through an archway into another side of the room.

“The spot you haven’t seen yet.”

Seth glanced around the other side that held two couches that were facing a small TV, a coffee table in the middle, a throw rug on the floor and a washer and a dryer, “What’s all this?” he asked curiously.

“Well, you know what a washer and dryer do,” Dean smirked, still holding him around his waist “You know, for all the linens and shit that we use. The couches are extra for when the two up in the arcade get destroyed, and the TV, table and rug is all Rocco.”

“Oh, so it’s his hiding spot?” Seth giggled, giving Dean small kisses on his neck.

“It’s ours tonight.”

“You thought all of this out didn’t you?” Seth smiled.

He shifted his eyes back and forth with an evil grin, then pulled something out of his pocket and sat it on the washer. Seth burst into laughter when he realized it was a tiny bottle of lube, “Always prepared, Batman.”

Dean tugged Seth into him with a mischievous grin, “Less talking.” he murmured, before connecting their lips again. 

Seth didn’t have time to process anything before Dean’s hand was running under his shirt. His other hand squeezed Seth’s ass tightly, “Teacher clothes,” Dean breathed, his hands sliding up to start unbuttoning Seth’s shirt, “Fucking love them.”

Clothes were flung off with the exception of Seth’s shirt. Dean wanted it still on him, unbuttoned and one of his biggest turn ons he’d ever discovered. Both of them lost reality, going to that place that only they could take each other. Even in the bottom floor of Dean’s restaurant. 

The couch, the floor, backed up against the wall and even bent over the washer, Dean pounded sounds out of Seth that Seth probably didn’t know he could make. It had been established between the two, that they both loved it standing up, bringing Dean to his current position. Seth slightly bent, holding onto the top of the dryer for support while Dean thrust into him at a blistering pace. His fingers gripped into Seth’s upper body, the sounds from him letting Dean know exactly what he needed. 

“Want me to touch you baby?” He growled, nipping his ear with his lips after each word. 

“Dean P-P-leaseeeee.” Seth begged, almost at the point of tears. 

Dean’s entire body shot off internal sparks at the sound of Seth pleading. He wanted to trap it in his brain so he could hear it again whenever he wanted, “Say it again.” he rasped into Seth’s ear.

Seth gasped, his body quivering while Dean left small bites on his neck, “Please!” he cried out. 

“Oh my God. I can get off just by you asking for it.” he murmured into Seth’s ear, reaching down and starting to stroke his neglected cock.

Seth’s head fell back onto Dean’s shoulder, babbling out a variety of cuss words and whimpers. Dean could feel how close Seth was as he started to clench up and shake, “De-De-I-”

Two more fierce thrusts, and Seth’s vision blurred as his orgasm ripped through him. Gasping, and holding on to any part of Dean he could reach, he whimpered and cried Dean’s name over and over. 

“Oh my God,” Dean panted, “So fucking hot…..mmmm….baby yes…..I’m…..”

Dean didn’t finish his sentence before he was sinking his nails into Seth’s skin, and his body dissolved into pleasure. He screamed out Seth’s name, driving into him and overflowing him with his cum. He moaned into Seth’s neck, “Godddddd yessss.”

“Mmmmm Hmmmmm.” Seth mumbled, as his eyes began to focus again. 

Dean managed to get them to the couch, knowing that his legs were about to quit on him. He wrapped Seth in his arms, letting him snuggle his head into his chest.

After a few minutes of silence, small smiles, and kisses, they both started to shift around. 

“You know,” Seth started, “For someone who claims to NOT be good at this, you sure keep getting better.” 

Dean chuckled, “You fixed me.”

“You were never broken.” 

“You really think so?”

“Yes,” He answered, giving him a small kiss, “But I have a problem now.”

“What’s that?”

Looking down at his sweat soaked shirt, he sighed, “My shirt’s wet. Now what?”

Dean smiled and kissed him on the cheek, “Well. We do have a dryer.”

***

Wednesday brought along “Tent Night” at Seth and Annabelle’s house. Annabelle was amazed at Dean’s actual real tent that he brought. It took up a big part of the living room, giving both Annabelle and Sebastian plenty of room to play inside. Dean and Seth helped them make tunnels into the tent using blankets and a couple of chairs. 

When Dean and Seth climbed inside, they were tackled by both kids and a tickle fight broke out. Sebastian ended up getting raspberries blown on his stomach by Dean, while Annabelle tried to rescue him. Seth wrapped her in a blanket to keep her from saving him, “You can’t go anywhere you little burrito!”

“I’m not a burrito!” She laughed loudly.

“She’s a shortcake!” Sebastian giggled.

“They got you.” Dean smiled to his boyfriend.

Seth rolled his eyes, “Yeah yeah, you win.”

It was official. Tent Night would now include Sebastian and Dean.

***

At Dean’s house on Friday night, things moved to the next level. Seth and Dean would be lying if they said that they weren’t concerned about the conversation that they needed to have. They honestly weren’t sure what they would do if their kids rejected their current arrangement. When Seth brought the two plates of chicken nuggets and fries to the table, Annabelle and Sebastian’s eyes lit up. 

“Daddy! Ketchup please!” Annabelle smiled.

Seth smirked back, grabbing the ketchup and then bringing it to the table. He sat down next to Dean and looked across at the kids. Annabelle squirted a massive mountain of ketchup on to her plate before passing it to Sebastian. 

“Mr. Dean,” Annabelle said, looking up at him, “You make really good sandwiches.”

“I do?” he asked.

She nodded, “Yup. You made peanut butter and marshmallow today. It was yummy.”

Seth arched his eyebrow, “Baby did you eat Seb’s lunch?”

With a mouth full of fries, she nodded as Sebastian explained, “There’s a big kid that rides our bus. His name is Noah Balor. He forgot his lunch today and was really upset. Annabelle gave him her lunch, and we shared mine.”

Both Seth and Dean didn’t see that explanation coming, “That was really nice of you.” Seth said to his daughter with a smile.

“So my lunches are good then?” Dean smirked to her.

Annabelle nodded excitedly, “Yes, very yummy.”

“What grade is Noah in?” Seth asked out of curiosity.

“3rd.” They both answered in unison.

Sebastian swallowed his mouthful and added, “He has two dads.”

“Uh huh,” Annabelle replied, dunking a French fry into her pile of ketchup, “I saw them when we were at the store one time.”

Dean and Seth looked at each other, then Dean took the opening, “So, do you guys think that’s kind of weird to have two dads?”

Both of them looked up at him confused, “No.” Annabelle replied.

“Why?” Sebastian asked.

“Uhhhh.” Dean fumbled.

“Because there’s so many kids with a Mommy and a Daddy. Do you think it’s different if they have two dads?”

Annabelle shrugged, “Lucy Flair has two Mommy’s.” 

“Yup.” Sebastian agreed.

“So you guys don’t think it’s a big deal then at all?” Seth asked.

“No.” They answered with innocent shrugs.

“Love is love.” Annabelle said simply, before going back to her chicken nuggets.

Dean and Seth were blindsided by their children’s understanding. Even more so by Annabelle’s words.

“Annabelle where did you hear that from?” Dean asked.

“Uncle Roman.” She answered, looking back up again.

“Roman.” Dean and Seth said at the same time.

“Uh huh.” She answered.

“What did he say? Do you understand what it means exactly?” Dean asked.

Without hesitation, Annabelle took a breath and began to explain, “It means that your heart loves whoever it wants.”

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Sebastian continued, “If you look different, or are a different color or how old you are or if you’re a boy or a girl. You can love whoever your heart wants you to.” 

“So there can be two Daddy’s, or two Mommy’s. Everyone is different.” Annabelle finished.

Seth and Dean’s jaws were half open while they absorbed the explanation that they got from their kids. Fumbling, Dean asked Sebastian, “So what would you think if I told you that I had a boyfriend?”

Sebastian shrugged, “It’s ok. As long as it’s Mr. Seth.”

Annabelle nodded in agreement, “Only.”

“So it’s ok for me to have a boyfriend then?” Seth asked her, “As long as it’s Mr. Dean?”

“Yes.” She replied.

“Is Mr. Seth your boyfriend, Papa?” Sebastian asked, trying his best to hide his smile. 

Dean blushed and glanced down for a second, “Yeah. Yeah he is.”

Annabelle and Sebastian’s eyes widened, and they looked at each other, before breaking out into giggles. They gave each other a hi-five and then looked back at their confused parents.

Seth gave Annabelle a fake glare then asked, “Did you know? Did Uncle Roman tell you?”

“Uncle Roman didn’t tell us, we just knew.”

“Yup.” Sebastian replied. 

“Is stuff going to be different now though?” Annabelle asked.

“Like what?” Seth replied.

She shrugged, “I don’t know. What do boyfriend’s do?”

“Everything that we’ve been doing,” Dean replied, “Nothing special or really different I think.”

“Are you going to kiss?” Annabelle asked.

“Ew!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“Shhhh!” She shot back, “Rude.”

He frowned while Seth and Dean tried to hide their laughter. He crossed his arms and looked up at them, “So you’ll be like Aunt Gemma and Uncle Roman?”

“Is that ok?” Seth replied.

“Are you going to sleep in the same bed?” He asked.

“If we’re having a sleepover.” Dean answered. 

Annabelle’s eyes widened, “I love sleepovers!”

Seth chuckled and shook his head, “We know baby, we know.”

“So like tonight?” Sebastian asked, “We’re having a sleepover.”

“Yes, like tonight.” Dean replied. 

“Do you hug a lot like Uncle Roman and Aunt Gemma?” Sebastian asked.

Annabelle rolled her eyes, “Duh.”

“If that’s not ok with you Seb, you can tell us.” Seth said.

Dean nodded, “You won’t be in trouble or anything like that.”

He looked up at Dean, “I just don’t remember you ever having a boyfriend before.”

Annabelle turned to him, “My Daddy either.”

“That’s fine,” Dean said, “It’ll be kind of new, and a little bit different. If you ever don’t like something, or want to talk to us you always can. You’ll never be in any trouble, we’ll never be mad. Ok?”

“Uh huh.” Annabelle answered.

Sebastian still looked unsettled over the new information, although he already knew about it. Now it had become a true reality, and it was a bit overwhelming. Annabelle turned to him and poked his arm, “We’ll kind of be brother and sister now.”

“Really?” He asked.

“Uh huh. But not for real yet.”

“When?”

“They have to get married,” She replied, “That’s what Uncle Roman said.”

“Roman.” Dean and Seth said in unison, shaking their heads slightly.

“Are you going to get married?” Sebastian asked.

“Well,” Seth said to Dean “This escalated quickly.”

“Eh, it wasn’t that quickly.” Dean sighed.

“They have to be,” Annabelle started, “Um. I can’t remember the word.”

“I think it’s engraved.” Sebastian answered. 

Seth burst out laughing and put his face down on the table while Dean tried to keep himself together, “It’s engaged, Seb.”

“Yes!’ Annabelle exclaimed, “That word!”

Seth turned his face out, “Do you know what that means?”

“Mmmmmm,” She thought, “It’s like when you say you want to get married and you get a ring.”

“Progress.” Dean said to Seth.

He sat back up and smiled, “Something like that.”

“But you have to be boyfriends for a long time first right?” Sebastian asked.

“It doesn’t have to be a LONG time. Sometimes it’s not THAT long.” Dean explained.

Sebastian shrugged, “Ok.”

“So you’re good with this?” Dean asked him.

He nodded, “Yup.”

“Baby you ok with this?” Seth asked Annabelle.

“Yes!” She smiled, almost bouncing out of her seat.

Dean and Seth looked at each other, both letting out a sigh of relief and then a smile. Mission accomplished. 

Just as dinner was over, the doorbell rang. Sebastian and Annabelle sprung from their seats and took off to answer it. Dean leaned back in his chair, looking out from the kitchen as they opened the door.

“Hi Annabelle! Hi Sebastian!” Dean heard, prompting him to get up and check out what was going on.

As he got to the door, he saw a young boy, about the age of eight standing there holding Annabelle’s lunchbox. It immediately clicked in Dean’s mind that the boy with curly brown hair and freckles had to be Noah Balor. The two men standing behind him most definitely had to be his dads.

“Hi!” The red head smiled, “I’m Sami, this is my husband Finn, we’re Noah’s parents. Are you Annabelle or Sebastian’s dad?”

Dean smiled back, extending his hand to shake Sami’s, “I’m Dean, Sebastian’s Dad.” He paused and looked down to Annabelle, “Hey Shortcake go grab your Daddy.”

“Ok!” she smiled, taking off for the kitchen.

Dean invited them inside, Finn and Sami immediately marveling at Dean’s house. Annabelle returned, holding onto Seth’s hand and pulling him with her. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Seth smiled, with hardly an idea of what was going on.

Dean introduced everyone, before Sami began to explain, “We wanted to come bring Annabelle back her lunch box, and to thank her for letting Noah have it today.”

Annabelle blushed, “You’re welcome.”

“I knew I was forgetting to do something this morning.” Finn shrugged with a smirk.

“Nobody’s perfect.” Annabelle smiled up at him.

“How come all the other girls can’t be as sweet as you are?” Finn chuckled, “The girls in Noah’s class are something else.”

Noah huffed and rolled his eyes, “I know.”

“Do you wanna come play XBox?” Sebastian asked him, “We are about to start a new game.”

Noah’s eyes widened with excitement and he looked up to his parents, “Can I?”

“That’s up to Sebastian’s Dad.” Sami replied.

“Totally cool,” Dean replied to the kids, then looking to Sami and Finn, “You guys want to sit down for awhile?”

Awhile turned into hours. Noah, Annabelle and Sebastian played games, went outside and played on the swing set, and were currently watching a movie. In the meantime, Seth, Dean, Sami and Finn were in the living room having a couple of drinks and getting to know one another. 

Seth and Dean were very intrigued with Sami and Finn’s story. Finn came to The States from Ireland on a scholarship to a major University. Sami, who was actually from Canada, also received a similar scholarship to the exact same University. There was only one word to be used. Fate. 

Finn graduated with his degree in law, Sami with his in Social Work. From that point on, they knew that they wanted to get married and adopt at least one child. They were introduced to Noah when he was 3 years old. He had been given up right at birth, and straight into foster care he went. Finn and Sami have no knowledge of his birth parents, and weren’t given privy to any type of information about them.

Without delving too deep, Dean and Seth explained to Finn and Sami their current arrangement. When it came to sharing adoption stories, Seth kept his very basic. He adopted Annabelle from a relative that didn’t want her, and that was all he shared. Sebastian’s adoption was very similar to Finn and Sami’s, only that Sebastian was younger when he came home with Dean.

“Babe?” Seth asked, looking at the clock on the wall.

“Yeah?” Dean replied.

“Is that clock broke?”

“No, why?”

Seth’s eyes widened, “It’s almost 11.”

Sami looked up and sighed, “Shit.”

“At least tomorrow’s Saturday.” Finn said optimistically.

“Good point.” Dean chuckled.  
***

 

Dean had just finished tucking Annabelle and Sebastian into bed when Sebastian asked, “Papa did you have fun hanging out with Noah’s parents?”

Dean smiled, “Yeah they’re pretty cool.”

“Really nice too.” Seth added, tucking Annabelle’s unicorn in with her.

“Are you going to hang out with them again?” Annabelle asked.

“Yeah,” Seth replied, “Well, that’s the plan. You know that grown ups get busy and stuff though.”

“I know.” She yawned.

After a bedtime story, Seth and Dean found themselves in Dean’s bed, quietly wrapped up together. Seth kissed Dean’s forehead, then pulled him on top of him, “This is really real now.” he said softly, giving him a small kiss.

Dean nodded, “I know. It feels kinda crazy.”

Seth smiled, “I like this kind of crazy.”

“Mmmmm,” Dean hummed, “I do too.”

“I like the crazy that you get when your clothes are all off.” Seth teased.

Dean chuckled, “We have to wait until they’re asleep, silly.”

“Crap,” Seth replied, “Yeah that’s going to take some getting used to.”

“You know what else is?”

“What?”

“Locking the door.”

“Shit.”


	13. This is Your House Too.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> November means Thanksgiving :)

Moving ahead a few more weeks, things had fallen into a comfortable routine. Dinner on Mondays at the restaurant, “Tent Night” on Wednesdays, and sleepovers on Friday and Saturday nights. Sleepovers alternated between both houses, as did hang-outs with The Balors on Fridays. On nights that Seth had late classes, Dean would pick Annabelle up with Sebastian after school, the same for Seth on any night that Dean had to work late. It was rolling along exceptionally well with the kids, which had been Dean and Seth’s biggest concern.

This brought on Thanksgiving, Seth and Annabelle’s first holiday with a REAL family. A family that accepted and loved both of them almost directly at first sight. The night before Thanksgiving was supposed to be a Tent Night, seeing as it was a Wednesday. Somehow, Dean managed to negotiate with Annabelle to let them have it at his house that night. Then they could get up the next morning and watch the Macy’s Day Parade inside of it. The plan was for them to meet at Dean’s house before dinner anyway, so why not give it a head start?

Annabelle, who had so recently learned from her Daddy that “plans change” and it’s “not a bad thing”, was happy to agree. 

After school, Seth and Annabelle packed over-night bags and headed to Dean’s house, completely ready for the four day Holiday Weekend. Neither of them had any idea that there was a surprise waiting when they walked in the door.

Seth hadn’t even given Dean a kiss yet, before Sebastian came barreling down the steps, “Annabelle! I have to show you something!”

Her eyes widened, “Like what?!”

“Hello to you too, Seb.” Seth chuckled.

“Hi!” Sebastian replied, tugging on Annabelle’s arm, “C’mon you have to come see it!”

Annabelle dropped her bag, and took off for the stairs with him, leaving Seth confused and Dean smirking, “Wait for it, ok?”

“For what?” Seth asked, confused. 

Dean listened carefully to the footsteps upstairs and then counted, “3, 2, 1.….”

“DADDY!” Annabelle screamed in excitement, “DADDY COME HERE!”

“What did you do?” Seth asked Dean, trying to hide his smile.

Dean shrugged and gave him a kiss, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but your kid wants you to go see something.”

“DADDY!” Annabelle’s voice echoed again.

Seth gave Dean a fake glare, then headed upstairs with him. Upon entering Sebastian’s room, he found his daughter standing wide eyed in total awe. As he got further in, he realized why. Sebastian had a new bed. Not just any bed, but a set of bunk beds. The wooden frame of it was light brown, matching the rest of the furniture in the room. The top bunk was twin sized, and had a small wrapping stair case to climb up to it, and a sliding board to get down. Underneath, the bottom bunk was a double sized bed, complete with an Avengers themed bed set and an Incredible Hulk doll. 

“Woah, Seb that’s really cool!” Seth smiled.

“Annabelle, did Sebastian tell you about the top bunk yet?” Dean asked with a grin.

She shook her head, “Nope! Just that it has a sliding board!”

“Climb up there.” Dean said, motioning for the steps.

Sebastian tried to hide his giggles, while Annabelle went up the steps. When she got to the top and laid eyes on the Wonder Woman bed set, she screamed again. 

“WONDER WOMAN!” 

“Do you like them?!” Sebastian asked.

The red, blue and yellow printed comforter had Annabelle mesmerized. She pulled it back just enough to see the matching sheets and pillowcases, letting out a squeal of excitement. Also on the bed, was a stuffed Wonder Woman doll, looking at her with a smile.

“Wait!” she exclaimed, looking down at Dean, “Is this bed mine?!”

“Yep.” Dean and Sebastian answered at the same time. 

Her mouth opened in shock as her eyes went from the bed, back down to Dean and then to the Wonder Woman doll in her hand, “It’s beautiful.” she managed to get out.

“I picked them out!” Sebastian beamed proudly.

“Really?!” Annabelle asked.

“Uh huh.” He answered, going for the stairs and climbing up to her, “I didn’t wanna have a Super Hero bed without you having one too!” Look, did you see the wall?!”

Annabelle looked to the wall next to the bed, and giggled wildly. Decals of Wonder Woman were pressed on, just high enough for Annabelle to see them, “So cool!”

Dean started to explain before Seth could start asking, “I figured that maybe she’d want her own bed,” he said, “Seb can have the bigger bed on the bottom, then she can have the top one. Wonder Woman inclusive. Had a theme going, you know.” He grinned, motioning around the room to all of the Super Hero decals on the wall and various Super Hero memorabilia and toys. 

The only response that Dean got was Seth taking a deep breath and heading out of the room. Instantly concerned, Dean followed him into the hallway, “Seth I’m sorry, I-”

“Don’t be sorry,” Seth choked, turning around with tears in his eyes, “Don’t be sorry at all, I just- that’s the-” 

It was clear by Seth’s cut off sentences that he was elated, but a small pinch of overwhelmed as well. Glancing back into the room, Dean saw that the kids were still on the top bunk, off in their own little world. He then reached for Seth, wrapping him in his arms and leaving a long kiss on his forehead, “I love you. Both of you. This is your house too now, ok?”

Seth smiled through his tears, nodding and squeezing onto Dean tightly, “Love you too. So fucking much.”

“Daddy!” Annabelle called, “Where did you go?” 

Seth and Dean both jumped unable to help the small chuckles they let out. Seth wiped his eyes and back into Sebastian’s room they went, “What’s up?”

“Do you like it?” She asked, as always hoping for her Daddy’s approval.

“Of course I do,” He grinned back, “What do you think?”

“Daddy I love it,” She smiled, then looking to Dean, “Thank you for my new bed!”

“You’re welcome.” Dean smiled back.

“Try the slide!” Sebastian said to Annabelle.

“Woah, woah,” Dean said firmly, getting both of their attentions, “This isn’t a toy. If you want to play, go out back and play on the slide out there. This isn’t meant for playing, got it?”

“Yup.” Annabelle nodded.

“We got it.” Sebastian replied.

“Daddy you should come up here,” Annabelle said, “It’s SOOOO cool. It’s like the BEST bed in the entire whole wide world!”

Dean nudged him, Seth giving him a playful glare back before climbing the stairs and getting to the top, “Woah!” he smiled, looking around at Annabelle’s view, “This IS the coolest bed in the world!”

Annabelle giggled in excitement, then watched as Sebastian went down the slide. 

“You going to try it?” Seth asked.

“I like it up here.”

“You do have all night to sleep in it, you know.”

“I know,” she replied, “Just a few more minutes? Please?”

Seth smirked knowing how excited she was, “Of course.”

***

Dean and Seth had never seen their kids so anxious to go sleep before in their lives. How long it took them to actually fall asleep would remain unknown. But it wasn’t too long into the night that they were up again. Dean was wrapped up in Seth’s arms while he slept soundly, his face in Seth’s chest and his arms around his waist. The lightning lit up the entire room, as a storm came rolling in. It wasn’t until a massive thunder roared that Dean’s eyes popped open. 

Seconds later the pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard racing straight for Dean’s room. If the door hadn’t already been open, there was a good chance it would have been busted down. Annabelle and Sebastian came frantically running in right for the bed. They catapulted themselves onto it, waking Seth in the process. 

Annabelle was crying and obviously very scared. Dean sat up and immediately engulfed her in his embrace, trying to ease her fear, “I know, I know, that was a loud one.” he soothed, running his hand over her hair.

“What happened?” Seth asked wide eyed.

The flash of lightning followed by a clap of thunder answered his questions, “Holy crap!” he exclaimed. 

“It’s a big one.” Sebastian said from where he sat, in between Dean and Seth. The storm had woken him, but hadn’t scared him as badly. To him, storms were cool and he was used to huge ones. Annabelle clearly was not.

“Baby, you ok?” Seth asked, reaching over for Annabelle. 

Her grip on Dean remained fierce, as she cried into his shoulder. Seth leaned over to turn on the light, only to find out that the power was out, “Oh, well that’s just lovely.” he shot sarcastically.

“Why is the power out?!” Annabelle cried.

“Shortcake, listen to me,” Dean said softly yet firm, “If the thunder gets too loud, sometimes it makes the power go out ok? It’s nothing to worry about, I promise. Nothing’s going to happen. It’s just a real bad storm, that’s all.”

“Why is it so loud?”

“Cause sometimes if it doesn’t rain for awhile, the clouds get mad. So when it finally does rain, it’s angry rain cause it took so long.” Sebastian explained.

Dean closed his eyes and shook his head a little. Sometimes he was convinced that Sebastian had the wildest imagination out of any kid, ever.

Seth turned on the flashlight on his phone and shined it up so that everyone could see each other, “See?” he said to Annabelle, “We’re fine, it’s ok. Just a grouchy loud one.”

Lightning cracked again, flashing through the room and making Annabelle jump. Dean held her head into his chest tightly, squeezing on to her. It made the thunder less scary for her that time. 

“Try and lay down ok?” Seth said to both kids, “Papa’s got the iPad next to him, we’ll put a movie on ok? Just try and relax, it’s almost over.”

Sebastian nodded, but Annabelle was still wrapped around Dean, “C’mon Shortcake,” he said, rubbing her back, “It’s ok, just try and lay down for a bit, ok?”

She nodded into his shoulder, then released her grip on him. In between Seth and Dean, they tucked in Annabelle and Sebastian securely. Dean reached over and got his iPad off the nightstand, then propped it up in front of them. Already knowing what their choice of movie would be, he found Hotel Transylvania for them. Dean and Seth kept their arms wrapped around their kids, Dean squeezing on to Annabelle whenever the thunder rumbled. Both of them were asleep again before Mavis and Johnny had even Zinged. 

***

Dean had woken up first the next morning, quickly realizing that was that there someone attached to him. He first assumed it was Sebastian, but when he looked down, he saw it was Annabelle. She had both of her arms wrapped around his, while the side of her face rested on his upper arm. She legitimately looked like a little koala. 

“I don’t ever wanna get up.” Seth whispered to him.

Dean turned to him and smiled, “How long have you been up?”

“Ten minutes or so.”

“They’re perfect, you know?” Dean said, looking from Annabelle to Sebastian.

Sebastian was on his stomach, facing out to Seth and holding onto Seth’s shirt while he slept. 

“Yeah, they are.” Seth smirked.

“I could wake up like this every morning and be the happiest person alive I think.”

“Until they’re teenagers,” Seth joked, “We might not all fit.”

Dean rocked his head back and laughed, “God help us.”

It pained them to wake the kids up, but they had to get moving or they’d be late to Roman’s house. Still in their pajamas, the kids ran downstairs to put on the Macy’s Day Parade. Dean adjusted the TV so that they could see it through the entrance of the tent. They happily ate Froot Loops, marveling at the different floats with no mention of the previous night’s storm.

“So what do we do at Uncle Roman’s?” Annabelle asked Sebastian, “I don’t really remember what we did for Thanksgiving before.”

“Well,” Sebastian smiled, “We go over, and I get to help Uncle Roman deep fry Tom the Turkey.”

“Tom the Turkey?!” She asked wide eyed.

“Uh huh,” he replied matter-of-factly, “We name him Tom every year. But you can probably help Aunt Gemma and Tatum make stuff too. Then we eat SO much food. It’s the most food you’ve ever seen!”

Annabelle’s jaw dropped, “Woah!”

“Then we can play games and stuff, and eat dessert and we watch football, and it’s awesome.”

“Oh my gosh,” She giggled, turning pink, “I’m so excited!”

When the parade ended, everyone scrambled for showers and to get ready. Annabelle was downstairs in the kitchen twirling around in her new sparkly purple short sleeved dress while Dean tried to comb Sebastian’s hair.

“Dude, just chill for a minute,” Dean said, trying to get his son to cooperate, “I’m almost done.”

“It looks lovely.” Annabelle smiled, watching Dean part Sebastian’s slicked hair and style it.

Sebastian wasn’t happy. It was bad enough his Papa had him wearing Khaki’s and a dark blue button up collared shirt. Now he needed to get his hair done. That was the one bummer on holidays for him.

“I think your outfit is very nice too.” Annabelle smiled.

“Thanks.” He mumbled, as Dean finished.

“Ok, don’t mess it up,” Dean said, before looking to Annabelle, “And what about my outfit?”

Annabelle inspected Dean’s khaki shorts and button up shirt that was similar to Sebastian’s. She walked over and picked a piece of lint off of the shirt, and handed it to him. 

“Ok, now you’re good,” she smiled, “I like it.”

Sebastian giggled and Dean shook his head, “You are your father’s child, you know that?”

“Uh huh,” She smiled, “He needs to hurry up, he has to do my hair.”

Dean examined her long dark brown hair and arched his eyebrow, “Can I give it a try?”

She looked to him, “Really?”

“If that’s ok with you.”

“You can do girl’s hair too?” 

“I used to do Tatum’s hair ALL the time.”

Annabelle giggled, walking over to get her brush and then bringing it back to Dean, “You’re not going to hurt me, right?”

“I’ll try my best not to,” He smirked, parting her hair, “Ok, the fanciest I can do is a pony tail and I might remember how to do a braid.”

“You can braid?!” She exclaimed.

“Maybe,” He laughed, gently brushing out her long locks that reached the middle of her back, “You got some long hair girl, you know that?”

“REAL long,” Sebastian smiled, “Are you ever going to cut it?”

“I dunno,” She shrugged, “I never thought about it I guess.”

“Ok, here we go,” Dean said, pulling her hair back in his hands and starting to braid it, “I think I might have it.”

Sebastian walked over, “Woaaah.” he smiled, watching his Papa braid her hair.

Dean twisted her hair band at the bottom, then tossed the braid over her shoulder, “Done!”

“No way!” She squealed, “I have to see it!”

“Hang on,” Dean laughed, getting his phone out and taking a picture of her, and the back of the braid.”

Both Sebastian and Annabelle giggled wildly when they saw Dean’s perfect braid, “I love it! Thank you Mr. Dean!”

“Great, now what did you buy her?” Seth’s voice came from the living room, as he walked to the kitchen.

“He braided her hair!” Sebastian smiled proudly.

“He did?!” Seth smiled, looking to Annabelle with excitement.

She nodded, “Do you like it?!”

“I love it!”

Annabelle blushed and giggled, right before Sebastian asked, “Is it time to go?”

“Yes,” Seth replied, “Go get your stuff.”

They both took off running, and Seth smiled to Dean, “Thank you,” he said, giving him a small kiss, “You’re the greatest.”

“You’re welcome.”

***

“We’re here! We’re here!” Sebastian exclaimed, running in the front door of Roman and Gemma’s house.

Both he and Annabelle jumped into Roman’s waiting arms, “Happy Thanksgiving!” he smiled.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” They both giggled.

“Is Tom ready?!” Sebastian asked, pulling away and looking at him.

“Yep, just waiting for you.” He replied.

A packed house was an understatement that day. In addition to Roman, Gemma and their kids, there was also Gemma’s parents and family, along with Roman’s parents and family as well. Once everyone was done gushing over the kids, Seth scooped Annabelle up in his arms, “You ok baby?” he asked, knowing how easily she got overwhelmed.

She nodded, “Daddy there’s so many people. I don’t think I’ve ever see so many people in a house.”

Seth smiled and kissed her forehead, “New stuff right?”

“Yup. But how come we never did this on Thanksgiving?”

He did his best to keep a strong face, “We don’t have a big family like this at all. They all lived in different places so we never did anything like this.”

“But is this how it’s supposed to be?”

He smiled, “It doesn’t have to be, just as long as you’re with people that you love. Ok?”

She nodded and kissed his nose, “Ok.”

“Annabelle!” Tatum called from the kitchen, “You want to come help me make the mashed potatoes?”

Annabelle’s eyes widened and she looked back to Seth, “Mashed taters?!”

“Yeah, mashed taters,” he smiled, “You going to go help her?”

“Uh huh.” She smiled back.

Seth let her go, and she took off to help Tatum. She soon found herself on a step stool in the kitchen, mashing potatoes in a pot on the counter, “Taters, taters,” She giggled, “Mashing some taters.”

“Is that your song?” Tatum asked, while she cut vegetables for the salad.

“Yep!” She giggled.

“Girls, look here.” Gemma said.

Both of them turned to see Gemma holding her phone up to take a picture. They both smiled, Annabelle wearing one of Gemma’s aprons that was clearly too big. She couldn’t risk getting her dress dirty, of course.

“How’s my taters?” Gemma asked, walking over and looking to see how Annabelle was doing.

“They’re mashing!” She smiled proudly.

“Are they ready for everything else?”

“I think so!”

“Let’s do it then.” Gemma grinned. 

Sebastian sat outside on the patio with Roman and Rylan. Tom the Turkey was cooking away in the deep fryer, while the football game played on the outside wall TV.

“Hey,” Dean smiled, walking outside with Seth, “How’s Tom?”

“He’s frying!” Sebastian replied, climbing off the chair and up into Dean’s arms.

“Yeah?” Dean asked, kissing his forehead and swaying a little bit, “Really frying?”

Sebastian smiled, “Really frying.”

Thanksgiving was something that Sebastian held near and dear to his heart. Everyone was happy, and everything felt right. Watching football with his Daddy, Uncle Roman and Rylan while Tom cooked was his most favorite things. It might seem stupid to other kids, but for him it was the entire world. This year, he got to share it with Seth and Annabelle, and that made it even more special.

“Love you Papa.” He said quietly, while he hung onto Dean.

Dean smirked, squeezing him tightly, “Love you too.”

Roman looked over from the game, “Did you meet the fam?” he asked Seth with a smile.

“Yeah, but don’t ask me names because there’s WAY too many of them.” Seth smirked.

“They all want to keep him too.” Dean added.

Sebastian pulled away and looked at Dean, “But I want us to keep him, not them.”

Dean chuckled, “We are, don’t worry.” 

***

“I think that’s the biggest turkey in the entire history of the whole world.” Annabelle said in amazement.

Sebastian nodded, “Yup.”

It was finally time for dinner, the table quickly being filled with food while relatives took their seats. Tom the Turkey was taking residence in the middle of the table, directly in front of Annabelle and Sebastian. 

Seth, who was next to Annabelle whispered, “That turkey is almost as big as you are.”

“Daddy!” she giggled, looking at him, “No it’s not!”

He smirked and poked her tummy, “You ready for all of this food?”

Wide eyed she nodded, “Yes!”

Dean came over and sat next to Sebastian who was bouncing in excitement. It felt like it was taking hours for everyone to sit down and get situated. 

“Patience, dude.” Dean smiled to him.

He shook his head a little, “I hate that word.”

***

“How were my taters?” Annabelle asked Seth.

Dinner had ended, and everyone was waiting for dessert. Seth smiled to his daughter, “Best taters EVER.”

“Really?” she smiled.

“Really.”

When the doorbell rang, everyone looked up at each other confused, “I’ll get it.” Tatum smiled, jumping from the table and taking off the for the door.

“Who in the world could that be?” Gemma asked.

“No one’s here!” Tatum called from the vestibule, “Oh! Wait!”

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked, becoming as interested as the adults were.

At that same second, Rylan slid back into his seat slightly out of breath. Roman gave him a wink, that Rylan returned.

Tatum came back into the room holding a large box, wrapped in silver wrapping paper, “This was on the porch!” she announced, putting down on the floor for everyone to see, “There’s a tag on it,” she said, as she studied it, “Oh! It’s for Annabelle and Seb!”

“IT IS?!” Both of them asked, wide eyed as their hearts jumped.

Tatum nodded with a smile, “Yeah! Come open it!”

As they sprung from their seats, Dean and Seth looked at each other confused, “What….” Seth started.

“No idea.” Dean cut him off, before looking at Roman who had a shit eating grin on his face.

“What did you do?” Dean asked him.

Roman shrugged, then watched as Annabelle and Sebastian tore away at the paper. Tatum helped them open the box which revealed two more wrapped boxes.

“THERE’S MORE!” Annabelle exclaimed.

“Ok, ok slow down.” Tatum smiled, pulling out both boxes and handing them each their own.

“Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh!” Annabelle squealed, while both of them opened their boxes. They let out simultaneous gasps before wailing, “ELF ON A SHELF!!!!”

“I’m going to murder him.” Dean said, closing his eyes.

Seth shook his head and laughed, watching the kids exploding in excitement. Both of them had square Christmas baskets holding their elves, storybook, DVD and other accessories. Annabelle was wide eyed and infatuated with the sparkly dress that hers had on, while Sebastian stared at his in amazement.

“You can’t touch them, ok?” Tatum said, handing them the baskets gingerly, “You have to be very careful.”

Sebastian nodded, “Uh huh or they lose their magic!”

“Daddy look!” Annabelle exclaimed, running to Seth with her basket and new friend.

“Wow!” Seth smiled, taking it from her and admiring everything inside.

“Look there’s a note too!” Sebastian said, carefully jostling it out of his basket, “Tatum can you read it?!”

“How about I let my Dad read it?” She suggested.

“OK!” Annabelle and Sebastian replied.

Roman was trying his best to keep himself together as he took the note from his daughter and started to read, “Dear Sebastian and Annabelle….”

“THAT’S US!” Sebastian cried out.

“We noticed.” Dean replied sarcastically.

Roman shook his head and continued, “Our jobs here have begun! We have been sent here from Santa, and every night we report back to him on how you are behaving! So make sure that you are doing your best in school, going to bed on time, being nice, and not giving your Daddy and your Papa a hard time. The ONLY time anyone can touch us is to put us in our baskets and take us along for a sleepover. We know that you love having them! Remember, if you touch us otherwise, we’ll lose our magic! Let’s have fun! Love, your new friends.”

“AHHHHH!” Sebastian exclaimed, jumping around with Annabelle.

“What are you guys going to name them?” Gemma smiled.

Both of them stopped and looked at each other, “Oh! I don’t know!” Annabelle said, going back to Seth so she could look at her elf, “Hmmm. Daddy what do you think?”

Seth studied it for a moment and then replied, “How about Sparkle? Her dress is very sparkly.”

“YES!” She smiled, “I love that name, Daddy!”

“Good.” He smiled back.

“Papa!” Sebastian called, walking over with his basket, “I want to name him Captain Rudolph.”

Seth bit his lip, while Dean answered, “Sounds great, bud.”

“Captain Rudolph and Sparkle huh?” Seth chuckled, “Welcome to the family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hope you guys liked this update!!  
> If you have a second, leave me a comment and let me know if I'm doing alright with our boys!! I always appreciate the feedback! :) Thanks!!
> 
> PS - If you didn't watch Takeover Blackpool last weekend, you really should go back and do it. It was so good! :)


	14. Books and Cakes and Trees, Oh My!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do I even live here?” Seth asked, staring at the tree that looked to belong in a Barbie palace.
> 
> Dean chuckled and looked to Seth, “Honestly, if I had a little girl, I’m more than sure that this is what my tree would look like.”
> 
> “Daddy do you like it?!” Annabelle asked, after her and Sebastian finished inspecting it for flaws.
> 
> Seth stared at it for a minute and grinned. Sure, it was exploding pink and purple, and was definitely NOT an average Christmas tree. But you know what? It was his and Annabelle’s tree, their very first one at their new house, and it symbolized more than just the holiday for them, “It’s perfect, Shortcake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks again for all the love, it's super appreciated! This chapter is extra long, I figured all of us would need it :)

“….Shake-shake and bake a cake,” Annabelle sang to no particular beat, “Gonna bake a cake!”

“Do you have a song for everything?” Tatum laughed.

It was early Sunday afternoon at Roman and Gemma’s house, and a baking party was underway. The next day was Dean’s birthday, and Sebastian had confided in Roman and Gemma that he wanted to make Dean birthday cakes. One from him and one from Annabelle. Then they’d have it for dessert on Monday night after dinner. Gemma and Roman thought it was a great idea, making Gemma sky high with excitement. She LOVED any thing that involved baking, and creativity. 

Annabelle was standing on a step stool in front of the counter, mixing up ingredients in a large bowl, “Just when I’m making things!” she giggled to Tatum, shaking her butt, “Shake-shake-bake-bake!” 

Tatum laughed again and leaned over, cracking eggs into the bowl, “Mix it slow, then we have to use the mixer ok?”

“Ok!” She smiled. 

On the other side of the counter, Gemma was helping Rylan and Sebastian get all of their ingredients in the bowl. She handed Sebastian the measuring cup full of milk, “Go slowly, be careful.” She instructed.

“Got it!” he replied firmly, following her instructions very seriously and pouring the milk into the bowl.

Gemma and Rylan both let out a sigh of relief, then watched while Sebastian carefully mixed everything together. 

“Ok, what color are we doing?” Tatum asked, opening the box full of small food dye bottles.

She shrugged, “Blue? Then can we do the icing red and yellow and it’ll be like Wonder Woman?”

Tatum smiled, “Perfect.”

“I want red cake, and Spiderman icing.” Sebastian said excitedly.

“Sounds good,” Gemma smiled, before looking to Tatum, “You guys about done?”

“Yup.” Tatum replied, helping Annabelle pour the now red cake batter into the round pans.

Both cakes went into the oven at the same time, the kids all helping with the cleanup.

“Ok, so here’s the plan,” Gemma started, “I’ll get them when they come out of the oven, so they can cool off and I’ll call you guys when they’re ready for icing ok?”

“Ok!”

“Tatum,” Gemma said, arching her eyebrow at her daughter, “Did you start that book yet?”

Tatum frowned, “No.”

“What book?!” Annabelle asked.

“A book I have to read for school.” Tatum replied.

“I wanna read it too!” Annabelle smiled, wide eyed. 

Tatum smiled back, “It’s probably going to be really boring though.”

“It’s ok!”

She shrugged, “Ok, let’s go. But I warned you.”

In Tatum’s room, Annabelle quickly found herself on Tatum’s bed watching her go through her backpack. She fished out a paperback book titled, “The Outsiders”.

Tatum climbed onto her bed and sat up against the headboard, letting Annabelle climb into her lap. She was wide eyed and ready for anything that Tatum was going to read. She flipped open the book and began to read, answering all of Annabelle’s questions along the way. Before they knew it, Gemma was calling for them to come downstairs to work on the cakes.

“So, all of the Soc’s are mean, but Cherry right?” Annabelle asked, as they walk into the kitchen.

“So far.” Tatum replied.

“But Pony Boy and Johnny are nice too. Not like Dally. He’s rude.” 

“Very much so.” Tatum replied, scooping Annabelle up and sitting her on the counter.

“How much did you read?” Gemma asked, getting all of the colored icing in different bowls.

“First two chapters, like I was supposed to. Sugar coating a part or two.” 

Annabelle nodded, “Yeah, they’re some crazy kids!”

Gemma arched her eyebrow, “Oh yeah?”

She nodded again, basically reciting the first two chapters to Gemma on point. Gemma’s spoon fell from her hand, “Woah.”

“Can I take you to school with me?!” Tatum asked.

“Ok!” She smiled.

“You really like to read, don’t you?” Gemma asked.

She nodded, “Yeah, reading’s fun.”

Gemma looked to Tatum, “I think we might be on to something here.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Does your Daddy know that you like bigger books? For older kids?” Gemma asked.

Annabelle shrugged, “I don’t know. I’ve never really had a book for older kids. I have one of my Daddy’s magazines though. I found it in his room. I almost read the whole thing, but I don’t really understand it. I have a LOT of words that I circled because I don’t know them.”

At 14 years old, Tatum’s mind went in the same direction that her mother’s did. Swallowing hard, Gemma asked, “What kind of magazine is it?”

She shrugged again, “I don’t know. It’s about the movies, and it has lots of pretty people that do them.”

“Like….” Tatum started, “Actors and actresses?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you recognize any of them?”

“Superman was in it.”

Gemma and Tatum both let out a sigh of relief, “Does the title of the magazine start with the letter E?” Gemma asked.

“Yup,” She replied, “It’s a long word.”

“Entertainment.” Tatum and Gemma breathed at the same time.

Gemma then turned to her daughter, “Wait, did you think what I did?”

“Mom,” She replied, “I’m not an idiot, I know what kind of magazines that guys keep in their rooms.”

“Entertainment magazines?” Annabelle asked.

“Exactly!” Gemma spit out, “Right!”

“Let’s decorate!” Sebastian exclaimed, running into the kitchen.

Tatum let out another sigh of relief, “Seb with the save.” 

 

***

“The Outsiders? My kid?!”

Seth and Dean had just come over to pick up Sebastian and Annabelle. There were no signs of cakes or any traces of baking anywhere, as to not blow their surprise for the following night.

“Yeah,” Gemma replied to Seth, “She gave me an entire summary of the first two chapters after Tatum read it to her.”

“Wait, ok, hold on,” Seth said, trying to wrap his brain around it, “She wasn’t freaked out or anything?”

“Nope. Well, I sort of censored one part,” Tatum replied, “She was upset that we had to stop after two chapters.”

“That’s crazy,” he smiled, “I have it, it’s actually one of my favorites.”

“Good spot for a certain elf to end up tonight.” Tatum smirked.

His eyes widened, “That’s genius.”

“I do have good ideas once in awhile.”

“I appreciate that one,” he smiled, “Maybe she’ll be big on History too.” 

Tatum’s eyes widened, “Oh my God, I almost forgot.”

Gemma’s eyes narrowed, “You did forget, didn’t you?”

“No! I said almost!” she replied, as she ran out of the kitchen.

Gemma sighed and looked at Seth, “She would like your opinion on something.”

“Oh,” he replied, “Sure.”

Tatum returned carrying a full binder and a History text book, “Can I pick your brain for a minute?” she asked.

He shrugged and grinned, “Sure.”

Tatum put the binder and text book on the table, opening the binder and pulling out a packet of papers, “Ok, in History next semester, we have to choose a specific time period to research. We’ll get quizzed on that specific period and then have a big project due at the end. We have four options, and I’m not really sure which one I want to do.”

“World War II,” Dean replied, sneaking in and wrapping his arms around Seth’s waist, “He’s kind of good at that one.”

“That’s not a time period, Uncle Dean,” She giggled, “It’s an event that took place DURING a time period.”

Dean rolled his eyes and let go of Seth, “Ok, whatever.”

Tatum handed Seth the packet, both him and Dean looking over it, “Is there any part at all that interests you?” Dean asked.

“Not so much,” She shrugged, “They don’t really give us A LOT of details.”

“It’s almost like they want you to research it yourself.” Gemma shot, raising her eyebrows at her daughter.

Tatum rolled her eyes, while Seth and Dean held in their laughs. They could both tell that it was most likely the school’s intention to have the students look into details themselves, “I mean, at least she’s not blindly picking,” Dean said, giving Tatum a wink, “This could technically be considered research.”

“Exactly!” Tatum smiled.

Gemma looked between her daughter and Dean. When the two of them were together, there was never a chance that she was winning any argument. Sometimes she wondered if they were unexplainably actually brother and sister. 

“Ok, so here’s the deal,” Seth explained, looking up from the packet. He proceeded to give her a small overview of each of the 4 times periods that would be covered, “….And I am, of course, totally suggesting the class that covers the 1930’s and 40’s.”

“Which is where World War II lands.” She smiled.

“Called it.” Dean teased.

Seth crinkled his nose at him then continued, “Not just that. You’re going to be learning about EVERYTHING. Sure, the war was a HUGE part of it, but so was The Stock Market Crash and the Depression. Then there’s The Hindenburg explosion, and Prohibition ended, and The Dust Bowl, oh and the Wizard of Oz came out…”

“Really?!” Tatum asked.

He nodded, “So did Snow White and Gone with the Wind.”

“Woah,” She smiled, “What else?”

“Ummmmm,” Seth thought, “Amelia Earhart disappeared, and frozen foods came out, and oh, Al Capone was running around.”

“Jesus,” Dean chuckled, “If that’s not a reason to take a class, I don’t know what is.”

“A mob boss, Dean, really?” Gemma asked, with her hand on her hip.

“I’m in.” Tatum said, wide eyed with excitement.

“Are you sure that’s the one you want?” Gemma asked.

“Oh, definitely.” She smiled.

“I’ll help her if she needs it,” Seth offered to Gemma, “I’m covering that in one of my classes next semester. She can sit in if she wants.”

Tatum’s face fell and her eyes widened, “Really?! Sit in during one of your classes?! With college kids?!”

“I mean,” Seth started, “Sure if your parents are cool with it.”

Tatum looked to Gemma, “Please mom?”

“How about we get that far first?” Gemma replied, “Let’s get into the class first, and we’ll make those plans next semester once it starts?” 

Tatum looked back to Seth, “THANK YOU!”

“Very welcome.”

“Hellooooo?” Roman smiled, walking in from work. He gave Gemma a small kiss and put his messenger bag down, “What’s going on?”

“School stuff.” Tatum replied.

Roman looked at her confused, “You? Talking about school stuff? Willingly?”

Gemma smirked, “I’ll fill you in later, ok babe?”

He shrugged, “Ok. How was everyone’s day? Did you guys put your trees up yet?”

“Tonight.” Dean answered. 

“I don’t even have a tree yet.” Seth said, slightly embarrassed. 

“I guess we need to fix that.” Dean replied, giving Seth’s side a playful poke.

“I seriously don’t have a single thing.” 

Dean smiled with a twinkle in his eye, “We’ll work it out.”

***

“This is how it usually goes,” Dean explained to the kids, as they pulled into the parking lot of the store, “And if you’re not ok with this Shortcake, just tell us, ok?”

“Ok!” She replied, from the backseat.

Dean and Seth both took their seatbelts off and turned to face them, “So you saw the HUGE tree that Uncle Roman has, right?” Dean asked.

“Yup! It’s so beautiful!” Annabelle gushed.

“Yeah it is.” Seth smiled.

“That’s our tree for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning ok? We’re all having a Christmas sleepover so Santa’s going to leave everyone’s presents under that tree ok?”

“A Christmas sleepover?!” She exclaimed.

“Yup!” Sebastian smiled to her.

“That’s so cool!” 

“It’s a lot of fun,” Dean explained, “So since we have the BIG tree at Uncle Roman’s house, me and Seb have a smaller tree at our house. So would you be ok if you and your Daddy have a smaller tree at your house too?”

“Yes!” She smiled, “We don’t need three big trees anyway.”

Seth let out a sigh of relief, “Nope, not at all.”

“Alright,” Dean said, unlocking the doors, “Let’s go!” 

***

After an hour of shopping, they headed to Seth’s house, putting together the little four foot white Christmas tree that they bought. Annabelle did her best to talk Seth into getting as many pink and purple ornaments as possible. Now they were all on the tree, with matching tinsel, lights, a Wonder Woman ornament, a Superman ornament, two unicorns, pink snowflakes and a pink light up star at the top.

“Do I even live here?” Seth asked, staring at the tree that looked to belong in a Barbie palace.

Dean chuckled and looked to Seth, “Honestly, if I had a little girl, I’m more than sure that this is what my tree would look like.”

“Daddy do you like it?!” Annabelle asked, after her and Sebastian finished inspecting it for flaws.

Seth stared at it for a minute and grinned. Sure, it was exploding pink and purple, and was definitely NOT an average Christmas tree. But you know what? It was his and Annabelle’s tree, their very first one at their new house, and it symbolized more than just the holiday for them, “It’s perfect, Shortcake.”

Annabelle smiled proudly at it, “Yay!”

Dean and Sebastian’s tree wasn’t as “loud”. It was the same size, but green with a completely different theme. Silver tinsel, with silver and red balls, a bright silver star, and tons of super hero ornaments. There was also a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament with Sebastian’s name on it and the year he was born.

“I don’t think I ever had one of those for her.” Seth said quietly to Dean, as the kids continued putting up ornaments. 

“It’s ok,” Dean replied, trying to keep him from feeling lousy about it, “Not everyone does, it’s not a big deal.”

He shrugged, “I guess.”

“We’re done!” Sebastian exclaimed, after he put the final Batman ornament on the tree.

Seth and Dean tilted their heads back and forth, trying to figure out if everything was even, “I think we’re good.” Dean smirked.

“Does it look ok?” Annabelle asked.

“It looks great,” Dean smiled back, “Good job guys.”

 

***

Dean smiled when he woke up on Monday morning to a text from Seth, “Happy Birthday Baby, have a great day! Can’t wait to see you tonight!” 

Birthdays always seemed like just another day for him. This year it was different. This year, Dean was the happiest that he’d ever been before. This year, he woke up to a sweet text message from the guy who he was madly in love with. This year was already the best, and he hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet.

The normal Monday routine was nothing out of the ordinary that day. Work, errands, pick up Sebastian and text Seth in between his classes. It wasn’t until he pulled up to Seth’s house before dinner that evening, that things went downhill in a hurry. Both Dean and Sebastian were surprised to see Annabelle outside waiting on the porch for them. Of course, in Dean’s mind she could have just been excited to see them. 

“Hey Shortcake.” Dean smiled, as she ran down the steps towards them.

The look on her face struck deep worry into Dean, “Are you ok?”

“Something’s wrong,” She said, looking up at Dean, her face reading of panic, “My Daddy and my grandma are fighting on the phone and he’s upset. I’m scared.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened and he looked up to Dean, “Papa can you help?”

Dean was at a loss for words at first, but then agreed, “Yeah c’mon let’s go.”

Once inside, he instructed the kids to go upstairs to Annabelle’s room and wait, and he’d come get them shortly. As Dean advanced inside he could hear Seth’s voice coming from downstairs. He quietly headed down the steps, the tone of Seth’s voice causing Dean’s stomach to tighten. It was clear that something was in fact very wrong.

“No - YOU - don’t understand,” he overheard Seth say, “You never TRIED to understand.”

From the bottom of the steps, Dean could hear Seth’s mom squawking at him through the phone, making Seth inhale deeply. Slowly, Dean crept around enough so that he had Seth in his sight. He watched anxiously while Seth went from kicking at the floor, squeezing onto the back of the desk chair and then pinching the bridge of his nose. Three things that Dean had never seen Seth do before.

When Seth slammed his hand down on his desk, Dean decided he had seen enough. Quietly, he walked into the room, and wrapped his arms around Seth’s waist from behind, “I’m right here.” He whispered into his ear.

Seth let out a small choke, gripping onto Dean’s arm with his free one, and finally cutting his mother off, “Don’t give me that shit!” he exclaimed, “It’s fine for you to be there, everyone looks at you as a charity case! Your husband is a drunk, your oldest kid died, and the other one took her kid and left town! NOT that you wanted me to keep Annabelle in the first place!”

Dean’s eyes nearly bulged out at the words from his boyfriend. Words that he had been holding inside, bottled up for years. He was surprised when Seth decided to put the call on speaker so Dean could listen in.

“…..And furthermore,” Seth’s mom said, her voice high pitched and irritated, “You didn’t need a child at the time! I was trying to make it easier on you! It wasn’t any of our responsibilities!” 

“It was ALL of our responsibilities! That’s your god damn grand daughter for fucks sake!”

“And what did you expect me to do with a baby exactly?!”

Seth pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He was officially gone, his brain was fried, his emotions were a train wreck, “Clearly nothing! But how about support your son a little bit while he’s raising your freaking grand kid.”

“No one ASKED you to do that Seth! You did it on your own!”

“Of course I did! Because unlike you, I’d never give up on my kid!”

Seth let out a small choke, then hung up the phone on his mother without another word. In pure frustration, be broke away from Dean’s arms and threw the phone across the room. He walked a few feet away, choking back the tears that he knew were coming. 

Doing the only thing that Dean could think of, he walked over and wrapped Seth in his arms securely, “Breathe baby, it’s ok.”

Seth sniffled, keeping his face in Dean’s neck, trying so hard not to cry. Dean didn’t need that on his birthday, Dean didn’t need any of this on his birthday. 

“Baby, talk to me.” He said quietly, hoping that he wasn’t pushing too much. 

 

Seth sniffled again, lifting his head up to face him. Dean could see that Seth was torn apart on the inside, and it made his stomach knot, “Seth,” he whispered, reaching up and holding the side of Seth’s face, “It’s ok.”

Seth closed his eyes, tears starting to slide down his face. Dean kissed his forehead, then rested his own there, waiting patiently for Seth to speak.

“She doesn’t get it.” Seth choked.

“Doesn’t get what?” 

His voice trembled while he replied, “That just because she doesn’t have a problem with living there, that I shouldn’t have a problem doing it either.”

Dean’s heart dropped and he pulled his face back, “They’re trying to….”

“No, they’re not trying to get me to move back,” Seth sniffled, knowing where Dean’s brain had gone, “My aunt is having Christmas, and she wants us to come. But my mother’s version is that me and Annabelle would have to stay with my Aunt. My Mom doesn’t want us staying with her, she only wants Annabelle there because the entire family is there, and she’ll be the center of attention. Then everyone will feel so sorry for my mom, and give HER attention. It’s all for her, it always is. I don’t want to be there, anywhere near there,” Seth started to ramble, “Nothing, none of it. The longer I’ve been gone, the more I realized that it was almost toxic for us to be living there….” he stopped his rant when the tears began to pour. 

“Ok-ok-ok,” Dean soothed, “It’s ok.”

When Seth started to tremble, Dean slowly shifted them over towards the couch. He pulled Seth into his lap, holding him into his chest, just as the sobs broke out, “I can’t be there anymore,” he cried into Dean’s chest, “I don’t want to be at their house and see all of the happy pictures from when Tori and I were kids. Or sit down at the kitchen table, EXACTLY where we were when the police came to tell us she was dead. I don’t want to drive past the cemetery that she’s buried at, or the flop house that she died at, or our old school, or the bar my Dad is shit faced at all hours of the day, or ANY of it.”

Dean felt his heart clenching at every word that came out of Seth’s mouth. He wanted to fix everything. He wanted to stop Seth from hurting, he wanted him to stop being haunted by his sister’s death. He wanted Seth’s parents to grow up and not be so fucking selfish.

Seth sniffled, “Annabelle is nothing to them. Tori’s mistake that I should have just walked away from. This blemish on their lives. At least my mom’s. My dad probably doesn’t even remember who she is.” 

“Baby,” Dean said softly, nudging Seth’s head up so he could face him, “It’s alright, I promise,” he reassured, reaching up and wiping Seth’s tears, “You’re not wrong for feeling the way you do. Your idiot mother isn’t the one that’s raising Annabelle, you are. She doesn’t know how it feels to be on your end of this and she’s never tried to. You have SO much more to consider in this situation, and Annabelle is still SO young. You wanted her out of that small town, where everyone knows everything about everyone else. That town that didn’t have many opportunities, and where everything reminded you of your loss. How is that fair to either of you if you stayed there? It’s not. You did the right thing, baby. Ok?”

Seth nodded and sniffled, “It’s such a shit feeling when the people you’re supposed to be able to depend on end up against you.”

“Don’t I know it.” Dean replied sarcastically.

“Sorry.” He sniffled.

“Seth you told your mom everything you’ve wanted to. It’s been sitting on you for a long time, we both know that. Now you know how she really feels, and you don’t have to guess anymore.”

He nodded, “Yeah. I feel relief but at the same time I don’t.”

“I know,” he replied, giving him a small kiss, “I’m really proud of you baby.”

Seth looked at him confused, “For what?”

“For letting her have it. I know that it’s not easy, at all.”

He gave a small smirk, “Thanks.”

“Besides,” Dean smirked back, “Everyone’s really excited that you guys are doing Christmas with us at Roman’s. Gemma is already going crazy with ideas already for presents, and pajamas and all kinds of shit. When the kids go to bed, we get to play Santa then I get to wake up with you on Christmas Morning.”

Seth couldn’t help smiling at the thought, “Then watch them open their presents like maniacs.”

“Exactly.” 

“I can’t wait.”

“Me either,” Dean paused to give Seth a small kiss, “But for right now, this is what’s about to happen. You’re going into the bathroom and splashing some water on your face and fixing your hair. Then you’re finding your phone. Then we’re going upstairs, and as much as it pains me, you’re changing into something more comfortable.”

Seth chuckled, “Wow, you really want me to take off the teacher clothes?”

“No,” Dean laughed, “I don’t WANT you to. I just know you’ll feel better. Then we’re going to eat food and relax ok?”

“That sounds perfect.”

Once Seth was situated, and his phone was found still in one piece, they headed upstairs. Both of them were surprised to find Annabelle and Sebastian sitting on the couch in the living room. Their eyes were full of concern, while Annabelle looked to be holding in tears.

“What part of -Annabelle’s Room- did you not get?” Dean asked sternly, folding his arms.

“She’s sad, Papa,” Sebastian replied quietly, “We were worried.”

Annabelle jumped off the couch and went straight for Seth. He scooped her up into his arms and held her tightly, “Daddy please don’t be upset.”

Seth swallowed, “It’s ok Shortcake,” he said softly, kissing she side of her head, “Everything’s ok.”

“Are you sure?” She sniffled, pulling her face away so she could see him, “Do you promise?”

“I promise.” he answered, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Why were you fighting?” 

Seth swallowed hard, his brain unable to compute how to go about an explanation.

“Hey, Shortcake,” Dean said softly, reaching over and rubbing her back “Look here, baby.”

Annabelle turned out and looked at him, her face red with a couple of tears trickling down, “Can you come here?” he asked gently, holding his hands out to her.

She sniffled hard, and then allowed him to take her from her Daddy. He wrapped her tightly, rubbing the back of her head while walking over to the couch. He sat next to Sebastian, giving Seth some time to get himself together.

“Can we talk?” Dean asked softly, Sebastian clinging onto his arm and looking up at him as if he could save the world. 

Annabelle picked her head up out of his chest and nodded, “Uh huh.”

“Ok, before we talk about anything, we need you to calm down ok? Breathe nice and slow, and just know that everything’s alright. Ok?”

“You promise?” she sniffled.

“I promise.”

“He promises.” Sebastian reiterated. 

Annabelle nodded and did as Dean instructed, breathing slowly and getting herself to a more relaxed state. Seth walked over and sat down next to Dean, leaning in and giving Annabelle a kiss on the top of her head.

Dean cleared his throat and began, “We really don’t know why your grandma is so mean, Shortcake. We really don’t. Sometimes people just are.” 

“That’s not nice.” She frowned. 

He nodded in agreement, “I know. Sometimes people learn it from someone else. Or maybe they learn it from their own parents. I need you to answer me a question ok?”

“Ok.” she replied, hanging on to every word coming out of Dean’s mouth.

“Everyone has good days, and everyone has bad days, right?”

“Right.”

“Everyone has good things happen to them, and everyone has bad things happen to them, right?”

“Yes.”

“When something bad happens, everyone is different with the way they handle it. We think that MAYBE that’s what happened with your grandma. MAYBE something happened, and she decided to stay angry about it instead of trying to feel better.”

“What do you think happened?”

“We have no idea. We just know that there was something.”

“Like when Rylan’s hamster died?” Sebastian asked.

“Do I know you?” Dean replied, trying not to laugh.

Seth couldn’t help chuckling, in turn making Annabelle smirk a little.

“Focus a second ok?” Dean asked, trying to get both kids’ attention again.

“Ok, focused.” Annabelle grinned, looking back up at him.

“It’s not cool at all that she’s like that. But at the same time, we can’t do anything about it. So we just have to kind of let it go. Ok?”

She nodded, “Got you.”

“Does that make you feel any better?”

“Yes, a lot better,” she answered, before looking at her Dad, “Daddy how long has she been mean?”

Seth sighed to himself. His mother and father hadn’t always been such a mess. Well, maybe not. His father was always a drinker, he remembered many nights with him passed out drunk in the living room. There were nights as a teenager that he had to walk down to the bar and bring his dad back home. He lost job after job because he never showed up, or when he did, he was too drunk to actually be productive. Seth’s mother was miserable, and constantly negative although she’d never admit it. 

When Tori’s addiction came out, Seth’s mom looked the other way. Just like she did with her husband. The only problem was, Tori was still basically a kid. Kids need their parents, and Tori was getting worse and worse. At 16 she was skipping school and dropped out by the end of the year. The only thing Seth’s mom said was, “Well, when she’s an adult and can’t do anything with her life, she’s not coming back here.”

Seth could see everything that his mother was turning a blind eye to. He knew that Tori needed help, and when he pleaded with his mother to try, it started a fight. She refused to see what was truly going on. That her daughter was caught in a vicious web that she needed to escape from. She needed help, she needed rehab, she needed to get away from the toxic people she was hanging out with. But again, his mother just turned the other way, not wanting to be bothered with the situation.

The night that Seth’s mom kicked Tori out was the night that his mother permanently became a different person. Anger consumed her from the inside out, and never stopped. Tori had stolen her bank card and withdrew hundreds of dollars. All of it was spent, and the moment Tori walked in the door, their mother threw her back out. She had all of her belongings in black trash bags waiting for her on the porch. Seth watched from his bedroom window as Tori’s friends helped her load it all into a beat-up Chevy sedan and drive away.

“Seth?”

Seth blinked, feeling Dean nudging him, “You still there?”

Annabelle and Sebastian giggled, as Seth came back to reality, “Yeah, I’m here.”

“You sure?” Dean smiled.

“Yeah, I was….I was just thinking. I can’t remember at all why or when she became so mean.” he lied.

“Maybe her hamster died too.” Sebastian said innocently.

“Enough with the hamster.” Dean chuckled, getting giggles from them. 

Seth shrugged, “I mean….”

Before he could finish his sentence, Dean’s phone rang causing his eyes to widen, “Shit.” he said, realizing it was Roman and what time it was, “Hey,” he said into the phone, “We’re on our way.”

He hung up the phone and looked to Annabelle with a small smile, “Ooops?”

Annabelle’s jaw dropped, “Are we late? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make us late!”

“Baby, calm down,” Seth said, reaching over and pulling her into his lap, “Calm down, it’s not your fault.”

She nodded, “Yes it is. If…..”

“Woah, woah,” Seth said, trying to calm her before the flood gates opened, “It’s ok,” he said, before whispering in her ear, “Listen, I have an idea.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“We’re already late, so a few more minutes won’t hurt. Why don’t you go get Dean’s birthday presents?”

She gasped and jumped from Seth’s lap, wiggling herself behind the recliner and returning with two boxes wrapped in Batman themed paper, “Happy Birthday!” she smiled, handing them to Dean.

Dean smiled, turning and looking to Seth, “What did you do?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Papa, open them!” Sebastian smiled.

“Ok.” He smiled back, pulling the envelope off of the smaller present. He opened it up to find a homemade birthday card from Annabelle. Her version of a cake was drawn on the front and it read, “Happy Birthday!”

Smiling more, he opened it up and read, “Dear Mr. Dean, Happy Birthday, I love you, Love Annabelle.” There were balloons, stars and hearts drawn on the inside as well.

“Thank you, Shortcake.” he smiled, kissing her forehead.

“Welcome! Now open the box!” she giggled.

Dean peeled the paper off, then opened the box to find a white coffee mug inside of it. He arched his eyebrow and pulled it out, immediately smiling again when he saw that there was a picture of Annabelle and Sebastian from Thanksgiving on it.

“Do you like it?” She asked.

“I LOVE it!” He replied, showing it to Sebastian, “Look, dude!”

“That’s me!” He smiled, “How’d I get on a mug?!”

“They took the picture and made the mug with it, silly.” Annabelle explained.

“I love it, thank you.” Dean said to her.

“You’re welcome.” she giggled.

Dean set it to the side, and then went for his other present. Upon opening it, he laughed loudly. It was a black hoodie that read “Neidhart University”, the school that Seth taught at.

“Now you can be a smarty pants too.” Seth teased.

Dean smiled at him, “You’re a smart-something-else that I can’t say in front of little ears.” 

He shrugged, “It’s a talent.”

“One more!” Annabelle said, motioning that there was something else still in the box.

Dean reached inside, pulling out an smaller wrapped box. Inside he discovered a framed 5x7 picture of himself and Seth from Roman’s Halloween Party. Gemma had taken it without either of them knowing. They were on the couch talking, looking at each other with a deep love that they didn’t even know was there yet.

He gasped, his eyes widening, “Where did you get this picture?”

“Gemma gave it to me when I asked her for present ideas.”

“I love it so much,” Dean said, turning and giving Seth a quick peck, “So much. Thank you.”

“Ew.” Sebastian whispered.

“Rude!” Annabelle shot to him.

Seth chuckled and looked at them, “How about you guys go get your shoes on and we’ll go ok?”

“Yup!” She replied, both of them taking off for the steps.

Dean immediately wrapped Seth in his arms and kissed the side of his head, “You guys are making this birthday so amazing.”

“Except for the whole thing with my mom. I’m sorry you had to get bombed wi-”

Dean cut him off, giving him a kiss, “Everything’s good, ok?”

“You sure?”

“If you’re ok, then it’s ok.”

“Yeah,” He breathed, “I am.”

“Good. Now go change real quick.”

“Shit.” Seth replied, the thought had totally escaped his mind.

“Go, hurry up.” Dean smiled, giving him a playful shove from the couch.

“I’m going!”

***

A couple of hours later, Dean was sitting at the dinner table listening in while Seth and Roman chatted. It wasn’t about anything really important, just work stories and something about Seth’s Winter Break from school. Dean assumed that the kids were in the arcade, but found out quickly that he was wrong.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

Dean jolted from his thoughts to see Gemma and the kids unveiling his surprise birthday cakes. His eyes widened, a broad smile lighting up his face, “Oh my God….” he spit out, “These are so awesome!”

“We made them!” Sebastian exclaimed, climbing up on Dean’s lap.

“You did?!” He asked in his own excitement.

“Yes!” Annabelle replied, as a smiling Seth pulled her up into his lap, “Seb and Rylan made the Spiderman cake,” she explained, pointing to the cake with red icing, and a Spiderman mask made from white and black icing, “And Me and Tatum made the Wonder Woman one!” She smiled, pointing to the other cake, decorated in Wonder Woman colors and stars.

Dean was practically speechless, still sitting there with a huge smile, “This…wow, thank you guys!”

The kids giggled, while Tatum pulled out a box of candles and started putting them in the cake.

“How many candles do you have?” Dean chuckled, watching her, “I’m not THAT old.”

“Put 100 of them!” Sebastian smiled.

“Definitely not that old.” He smiled back, tickling at his sides.

When Tatum was done, Dean nudged Annabelle and Seth, “Might need some help with these.”

“Ok!” Annabelle smiled, watching Tatum light the candles up.

“What do I wish for?” Dean whispered to Sebastian, once the singing was done and everyone waited for the candles to be blown out.

Sebastian turned his head to his dad and whispered back, “Mr. Seth and Annabelle to stay with us forever.”

Dean smiled, “Ok.”

“You better hurry up or this one is going to blow them out for you.” Seth said, motioning to Annabelle, who was ready to go.

“Ok,” Dean replied, “GO!”

Two cakes worth of candles were blown out, Sebastian keeping his fingers crossed and repeating his dad’s wish to himself. He snuggled into Dean’s chest, “Happy Birthday Papa, I love you.”

Dean smiled, and kissed his forehead, “Thanks little man, I love you too.”

“What cake do you want first?!” Annabelle asked, excitedly.

“Hmmmm,” He smirked, “Both!”

***

 

“Hey Uncle Dean,” Tatum said, sitting down next to him and Seth, “I need to talk to you guys.”

Dean looked up from what had to be at least his third piece of cake. The kids were with Gemma, Rylan and Roman in the arcade, leaving Tatum with him and Seth. 

“What’s wrong?” He immediately replied, while Seth leaned over to listen.

“Nothing’s -wrong-,” She replied, glancing over to make sure that no one was in ear shot, “I need help with something though.”

Dean arched his eyebrow, “What’s his name?” 

“Jeeze, it’s not a boy.”

“Let her talk, Dean.” Seth smiled.

“Go.” He replied, giving her a wink.

“So, there’s this party coming up, and I need to know how I can convince my parents to let me go.” She explained.

“Oh boy.” Seth replied.

Dean folded his arms and sighed, “Ok, start from the beginning. Who is throwing this party?”

“Ericka Jericho.” She answered.

“Is she the one with the big scary ass dad, who goes hunting and drives the big truck?” Dean asked.

She shook her head, “No, that’s Angie Strowman’s dad.”

“Remind me not to go near him, ever.” Seth chuckled.

“You have no idea,” Dean said to him, “I mean, he’s a real nice guy, he comes in here a lot. But he’s one scary looking dude.”

“Angie said that he has his nipples pierced too.” Tatum added.

Both Seth and Dean’s jaws fell, “Wha…” Dean started, “I…ok you know….”

“I wonder how bad that hurt.” Seth interrupted.

Dean turned to his boyfriend still with a look of shock on his face, “And you need to know WHY?”

Seth winked at Tatum, “Who knows, maybe…”

“Ok, stop!” Tatum giggled, “Concentrate on me for a second here.”

Seth chuckled, “Ok, back to you.”

“Anyway,” She continued, “She’s having a party, and I really want to go. I need to figure out a way to get my parents to let me.”

“They’ll shut you down, if you ask?” Seth asked.

She nodded, “Yes.”

“Are her parents going to be there? How many kids are we talking? Guys too?” Dean asked.

“So, probably like 20 kids I guess. Yes, boys too. Um, and her parents will technically BE there, just not really…you know, around.”

“Out of sight and out of mind?” Seth asked, arching his eyebrow.

“Um, yes.”

Dean tapped his fingers on the table top, “And is there going to be drinking or anything of that variety?”

“No one has SAID anything about that,” She replied, “But you KNOW if there is, I’ll stay away from it.”

This was a fact, Tatum didn’t want anything to do with it. She just wanted to hang out with her friends and have fun.

“So,” Seth started, “What would your parents big gripe be?”

“I…I um….”

“There’s some girls at school that give her a really hard time,” Dean explained, “They’re pretty brutal, and there’s probably a chance that they’ll be there, correct?”

Seth’s eyebrows raised, “Seriously?”

She nodded, “Yeah, so my parents want to keep me in a bubble so no one picks on me anymore. But I don’t even know if those girls are going to be there anyway.”

Dean sighed and thought to himself for a second, “Ok. These are my terms and conditions.”

Tatum’s eyes widened, “Go on.”

“Now, this is IF we get your parents to go along with it. Number one, you will text me EVERY half hour on the dot.”

She nodded, “Ok, got it.”

“Number two, If those girls show up, I’m coming to get you RIGHT then.”

“Ok, got it.” She answered.

“Number three, if I even smell….”

“I’m not going to, Uncle Dean.” 

Seth nodded along, “I’m on board with this. Operation Tatum’s Party?”

Dean wiggled his eyebrows at Tatum, “Let’s do it.”

***

“10 Minutes, then we gotta go ok?” Dean said to the kids, when they got back to Seth’s house that night. 

“YES!” They both answered, taking off for Annabelle’s room.

Dean flopped onto the couch first, stretching out on his side and reaching out to Seth, “’Mere.”

Seth smirked, climbing onto the couch facing him, giving Dean a small kiss and wrapping him up. Dean let out a small hum, “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Seth answered, “Happy Birthday.”

Dean smiled, “Best birthday that I’ve had in….in….well, awhile.” 

He smiled back, “You’re welcome.” 

Dean left a couple of kisses on his forehead, “I have an idea to run by you.”

Seth gave him a small grin, “Like what?”

“It’s just a suggestion ok? Don’t think I’m trying to push something on you ok?”

“Should I be concerned?” He asked teasingly.

Dean smirked, “Very funny.”

“I know,” He replied, “So what’s up?”

“I think that you should consider getting Annabelle a cell phone.”

Seth blinked, “Wait, what?”

“Just hear me out baby,” he started, “Not one like you and I have. Seb has a basic one. It’s got numbers that I programmed into it, and those are the only calls he can make or receive. Roman, Gemma, Me, Rocco and the restaurant. I think it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for Annabelle to have one too.”

Seth nodded a little, processing Dean’s explanation, “That’s just weird to think about. My kid having a phone.”

“I wouldn’t consider it a phone per say,” He smiled, “I’d say more like tracking device for Dads.”

“That’s true,” Seth laughed, “I guess it wouldn’t be a bad Christmas present, huh?”

“Not at all,” Dean answered, “But um, I also want her to have a way to reach out to us if she needs to. If she’s scared, or something’s wrong with you. I’d feel better knowing that she’d be able to get a hold of me.”

He sighed, “Scared her today, huh?”

“You can’t blame her, and it’s also not your fault. She’s never seen you like that before, and it scared her. In a perfect world, we could keep it from happening so neither of them would ever see us like that. But we both know it doesn’t roll like that. That’s why I would like for her to be able to get in touch with me if she felt like she needs to.”

“I think that I’m on board with this.”

Dean gave him a small kiss, “Good.”

 

***

Seth’s eyes shot open in the middle of the night, as he woke from a dead sleep. His heart was pounding out of his chest, while the memories of his dream hung over him vividly. Reaching for his phone, he looked at the time and groaned. He shouldn’t call him, he shouldn’t wake him up. At the same time, no one else could possibly talk him through this. 

Dean reached around blindly for his ringing phone, until he opened his eyes and grabbed it off the night stand, “Baby, what’s wrong?” he answered groggily.

“Nothing,” Seth lied, “I’m sorry I-”

“Bad dream?” Dean cut him off, sitting up in bed.

“How’d you know?” 

“You said nothing was wrong,” Dean replied, “It’s the middle of the night, that means there’s only one other option.”

Seth couldn’t help smirk, “Yeah. It felt so real, like too real.”

“What happened?”

He sighed, “When Annabelle was a baby. It was like reliving everything all over again from when she was in the hospital. It felt so real, How scared I was, holding her hand through the little incubator, everything. It was so real.”

Dean sighed sadly, “I’m sorry baby, I know what those dreams are like too. It has to be because your mom got you all wound up today, it’s still weighing on you. Listen, get up ok?”

“What? Why?”

“Because I asked you to.”

Seth climbed out of bed, “Ok, I’m up.”

“Go to Annabelle’s room, stand outside her door.”

Again, Seth did as Dean told him, now standing outside of her bedroom and looking inside, “Ok.”

“See that little girl? Is she sound asleep, hugging that fat ass unicorn? Does she have that silly little smirk on her face?”

Seth smiled, “Yeah.”

“That’s all because of you. That’s all that matters. So no matter what your idiot mom says, or whatever bad memories visit you in your dreams, what’s in front of you is the only thing that means anything. Ok?”

“Yeah.” He choked quietly.

“Now go look at your goofy pink and purple Christmas tree.”

Seth couldn’t help the small chuckle that came out, as he headed downstairs. 

“You see that thing?” Dean asked, “That’s because you chose to do what’s best for her. You started over, and this is your first real Christmas. She walks past that thing and it makes her the happiest little girl in the world. That’s because of you.”

He smiled at the tree, letting Dean’s words absorb into his mind, “Are you always this good at life in the middle of the night?”

“I mean, we both know I’m pretty good at things in the middle of the night.”

Laughing, Seth answered, “True.”

“You ok to go back to bed now?”

Seth went to answer him, but his attention was drawn elsewhere, “What’s-” he started, walking closer to the tree. In the middle of the tree hung and ornament that Seth didn’t recall buying. He reached out and took it off, studying the pink ornament shaped like a baby bottle that read, “Baby’s First Christmas” with Annabelle’s name and birth year. Seth’s jaw dropped and tears filled his eyes, “De- did you…..”

“Did I what?” he asked.

Seth swallowed, “Ornament.”

Dean smirked, “What are you talking about?”

“The ornament,” Seth spit out, “The baby one.”

“Hmmmm,” he answered, “Wasn’t me. Must have been Sparkle.”

Seth couldn’t help laughing while tears spilled down his face, “You know how absolutely amazing you are?”

“I mean, you tell me a lot,” he answered, “Most of the time it’s when you’re on your back, but yeah, I get the idea.”

“Jesus Christ.” Seth choked out in a laugh.

“You ok?”

“Yeah,” he answered, hanging the ornament back up, “Thank you, it’s amazing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Thank the damn elf.”

Seth smiled, “Ok, I will thank her when I see her.”

“Where’s she hanging out tonight?”

“She’s sitting on the table reading ‘The Cat in the Hat’.” he replied.

“Captain Rudolph tipped over the box of Lucky Charms and is drunk off marshmallows now.”

Seth had to muffle his laugh to keep from waking Annabelle, “That’s awesome.”

“I try,” he replied, “You ok though? You going to be able to go back to sleep?”

“Yeah,” he answered, “I am.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m ok.” 

“I promise lots of cuddles tomorrow.”

“Sounds perfect,” Seth answered, “I love you.”

“I love you too baby.”

***

 

If you have a second to drop a review, please do! They're super helpful and motivating! Thanks!


	15. The 49ers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens after Dean and Seth talk to Roman and Gemma about Tatum going to the party?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi :)  
> Sending you guys a double dose this week yay! As always, thanks for the love.  
> Super shout-out to Moxley_Mox018 for being a general rock star, and always helping me out!
> 
> **Important FYI**  
> There is some bullying addressed in this chapter, so if that kind of thing upsets you, read with caution or skip!

The stars were aligned in Tatum’s favor on the night she, Dean and Seth presented the idea about the party to her parents. Gemma, of course was the most apprehensive about it. Her main argument (which was questionable) was that Roman would be working that night, therefore she’d be the one to drop off and pick Tatum up. 

Insert Dean, the greatest Uncle in the world. He slid right in, offering to take Tatum and pick her up. He also included letting her stay the night at his place afterwards. Roman didn’t see an issue, knowing that Dean would have it taken care of. Gemma was still in Mama Bear mode over it. She questioned at least ten times whether the bullies would be there, and Tatum repeatedly told her that she wasn’t sure. Seth then stepped in and let them know that Tatum would be in contact with them the entire night. If anything was wrong, they’d go get her immediately. It would go down as the first major victory for Team-Seth-Tatum-Uncle Dean. 

The party fell on the Friday night, a little over a week before Christmas. Seth was officially done with his classes, just needing to grade final exams and projects before he was free. His first semester would officially be over, and he could honestly say he was proud of himself for adjusting to the new atmosphere so well. He really did have a lot of self doubt and concern when the semester began. That was all behind him now, and after his grading was done, there was nothing else to concentrate on but the holidays. He was elated.

“Does this look ok?”

Seth looked up from his laptop to see Tatum in front of him. He could tell that she wasn’t sure about the outfit to start with, “I sent a picture to Angie, she said that she really likes it, but I don’t know.”

He arched his eyebrow, there was NO way in hell she was wearing those low rise skinny jeans, and crop top, “Fuck no,” he accidentally blurted out, “I mean…ok, just no. You’re not leaving like that. Please don’t tell me it’s the only outfit that you brought.”

“Um,” she started, “Kind of.”

His eyes shot wide, before he moved his laptop to the side, and sprung from the couch, “Let’s go.” he said, pointing to the stairs.

They both trekked up to Dean’s bedroom, where Seth opened up the closet. The right side was where he kept his clothes that he didn’t wear as often. He glanced from Tatum back to the shirts a couple of times before pulling out a button down blue one that complimented the crop top, “Here,” he said, handing it to her, “Leave the buttons open but tie it off at the bottom, so it covers stuff that we both know your dad doesn’t want ANYONE seeing.”

She couldn’t help laughing, doing as Seth said and then looking in the stand up mirror, “Ok yeah. This will work.”

“Uh, yes it sure will,” Seth replied, shaking his head, “Oh my God, I’m not ready for this.”

“Hey, Tatum you ready?” Dean called, as he walked into the room with his car keys, “Is that my shirt?!”

“Let it go,” Seth said to him, “Trust me, you don’t wanna know what the other option was.”

He arched his eyebrow and looked to Tatum, “Roll the sleeves a little.”

“Oh,” she answered, doing as her Uncle said, “Like this?”

“Perfect,” Dean smiled, “Let’s go.”

“Wait,” Seth interrupted, “Wipe that lipstick off some. Way too dark.”

Dean tilted his head to the side, “Definitely.”

She sighed, “Ok, ok I got it.”

Seth was back on the couch with his laptop when Tatum and Dean were walking out the door. In a sing-song voice, Seth heard, “Thanks Uncle Seth.” before Tatum was out the door. 

Seth smiled, he could totally get used to that. Just as he was pulling up his grading program, he noticed two eyes watching him from over the screen. Seth smirked and looked at Sebastian, “Well hi there.”

“Hi.” He answered quietly.

Immediately knowing something was up, he again put his laptop to the side, “What’s up dude?” 

“Annabelle’s reading and doesn’t want to play,” He explained sadly, “Ever since she started reading with Tatum, that’s all she does is read.”

“Hm,” Seth replied, “I guess that’s probably a bummer huh?”

“A big bummer.” 

“And you don’t like to read at all? You wouldn’t want her to read to you or anything?”

He shook his head, “No, I don’t like to read at all. Does that mean that Annabelle is smarter than me?”

“No, not at all,” Seth answered sympathetically, never wanting either kid to feel inferior to the other, “Everyone has a thing that they like to learn about more than others. She just happens to like reading.”

“You like History, right?” 

Seth raised his eyebrows, “What do you think?”

Sebastian giggled, “I think so.”

“Well, is there anything you like that’s not related to super heroes?” 

“Football.”

Seth closed his eyes for a second. Ok. He could definitely work with this, “Do you know any of the states yet?”

He shook his head, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Ok, come here,” He said, pulling Sebastian onto his lap. He sat his laptop between both of them, doing a quick search for a kid-friendly map of the United States, “So this whole thing is the United States, you know that right?”

“Yup,” he answered, “Here’s us.” He said, pointing to the state that they lived in. (Hell if I know where that is yet.)

“Perfect,” Seth smiled, “And there’s 50 states that make the whole thing. Ok?”

“Yup.”

“Ok, so name a football team for me.”

“Hmmm,” He answered, “49ers. 

“Ok, where are they from? What’s their full name?”

“San Francisco 49ers.”

“Yup,” Seth smiled, “Now take a guess where they are on the map.”

“Hmmmm,” Sebastian said, randomly pointing at a state, “Here?”

“Close!” Seth replied, “That’s Nevada. San Francisco is in California, which is RIGHT next door to Nevada,” he explained, pointing to it on the map. 

“Wow!” In that big state?”

“Yup. Now, a lot of teams have their names because of the city they are from. Do you know what a 49er is?”

Sebastian glanced from side to side and then at Seth, “Nope.”

Seth smiled, “In California, back in the year 1849 which is a REALLY long time ago, people were digging for gold. They wanted to find it and be rich. They were called 49ers, because that’s the year that they were doing it. 1849.”

“WOAH,” he said, as if Seth was reading him the greatest story ever told, “Real gold?”

“Real gold.”

“Cool!”

“So how about, every day we will do a different football team? Where they are from, and how they got their name?”

His eyes widened and he sprung from Seth’s lap, “Hold on! We need to write this down!”

Seth chuckled to himself, Sebastian running right back with his doodle book. He flipped to a blank page, and from there Seth helped his spell out everything that he needed to know. Proudly, he read it over to himself and smiled, “Cool.”

“Seb!” Annabelle’s voice called, as she came down the stairs, “Do you want to play?”

“Guess reading is done.” Seth smirked to him.

Sebastian nodded, “Thank you for teaching me about the 49ers.”

“You’re welcome.” Seth smiled, before Sebastian took of to go play with Annabelle. 

He shook his head to himself, then once again pulled up his grades. Not even a second later, the door opened and Dean walked in, “Ok, that was fun.”

“Did you give her the virginity speech on the way?” Seth asked, convinced he was never going to get done grading. 

He chuckled, “Nah. She got that like a year ago.”

“You’re the coolest Uncle in the world.”

“Apparently you made Uncle status too,” Dean chuckled, sitting down next to him, “If that’s ok.”

“It’s perfect.” Seth replied, trying to concentrate on the screen.

“What’s wrong?”

Seth sighed, “It’s not that I mind the reasons I keep getting interrupted, but I really have to get this done.”

“You keep getting interrupted?”

“Well, I had Tatum’s wardrobe malfunction, and Seb came and hung out with me for a bit because Annabelle was reading.”

“And now here I am?” Dean smirked.

“I said I didn’t mind.” He smirked back.

“Go in my office and finish them. I’ll make sure the kids don’t bother you I know it’s important.”

Seth leaned in and gave him a small kiss, “Thank you. I promise I’ll make it up to you later.”

“I love your promises.”

 

***

Dean was set to pick Tatum up from the party at 11. Unfortunately, it didn’t play out the way they had planned. Around 10, Dean’s phone rang, jostling him and Seth from their snuggle session. Dean grabbed his phone, eyes widening when he saw it was her, “Are you ok?” he asked, after answering it on speaker.

“Uncle Dean,” Tatum whispered on the other end, “Can you please come get me?”

“Tatum what’s wrong?” Seth asked, sitting up with Dean.

“Those girls are here,” She replied quietly from the bedroom floor where she sat, “They threw soda on me. I’m hiding in Ericka’s bedroom.”

“Jesus Christ.” Dean breathed.

“Tatum, I’m coming,” Seth said, “Stay where you’re at and I’ll call you when I get there ok?”

“Ok!”

Dean hung up and looked at Seth while he got up and got dressed, “You sure?”

“Yeah,” He answered, “I got this.”

“My life sucks,” Tatum sighed to herself a few minutes after she got off the phone, “I hate my life.” She paused a second, listening to the music and laughter coming from the floor under where she sat. Tears began to form, “Why can’t I be down there right now? What did I do? I guess….some people were just born to be losers. To never be really liked. I mean…I have a few friends. My best friend is a 6 year old though.” She sniffled hard, while her mind continued twisting around, “This is why my parents want to keep me away from everything. They know that people are going to hate me and screw with me forever. What do I have to do to make them stop? I could ask my parents to switch schools. But then people there will just fuck with me too. Is there anything left?….”

Her phone ringing interrupted her self-pity session. She let out a sigh of relief to see it was Seth, “Hello?”

“Hey, listen,” Seth started, “I want you to come downstairs, be really calm and chill. Walk to the front door and I’ll be waiting for you right there. They won’t say shit.” 

“Are you sure?” she breathed.

“I’m sure, trust me.”

“Ok.” She replied, hanging up the phone and getting up from the floor. She walked into the bathroom, splashing water on her face, and wiping off the smudged makeup. Bravely, she walked over and opened the bedroom door, glancing around. There was no sign of anyone, just the continual noise and music from the floor below.

Tatum took a deep breath and did as Seth had instructed, walking calmly out of the room and down the steps. She knew that there were eyes on her as she made her way down into the living room. Then across the room at the front door, Seth stood leaning on it with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. He had on his “Neidhart University” hoodie, and a matching hat that sat backwards on his head. She could hear girls whispering, “Who is that hot guy from Neidhart? Who is he here with?”

Smirking back to Seth, Tatum advanced to the door. She was stopped by Ericka, “Are you leaving?” she asked sadly.

“Yeah,” Tatum smiled, “My friend’s here to get me, we’re going to go hang out for awhile.”

Ericka glanced over to the door where Seth stood, “Oh. Wow he’s hot. He goes to Neidhart?”

She nodded, “Yeah.”

Her eyes widened, “What’s his major?”

“Uh,” Tatum blinked, trying to think fast, “Pre-Med.”

“Your dad must LOVE him.” Ericka giggled.

“Oh, yeah,” She stuttered, “He definitely does.”

“Thanks for coming,” Ericka said, giving her a hug, “I’m sorry about your shirt.”

“It’s ok,” She shrugged, “It’ll wash out.”

“Yeah it should. Have fun with your friend ok?”

“Thanks,” She replied, “I will.”

The girls who tormented Tatum were sitting on the couch, staring heart eyes at Seth. When Tatum walked over and he put his arm around her, they all gasped in unison. Tatum grinned to herself, walking out the door and through the grass to Seth’s car, “I owe you SO much.”

“Nah,” Seth smiled, letting her in the car, “You owe me details. A LOT of details.”

 

***

Dean was downstairs watching TV while he waited for Seth to get back with Tatum. The second that they came in the door, he started to interrogate them. After flopping on the couch between Dean and Seth, she went from beginning to end about the party. The first hour went by great, until -those- girls showed up. It was a small group of them that had been torturing Tatum since Middle School. They were the cruelest of bullies. Once they arrived, after making their presence known their sights were set on Tatum.

“The usual,” She sighed to Dean, “I’m a dumb rich virgin, Daddy buys me everything, I’ll never get a boyfriend, blah blah blah.”

“When did the soda come in to play?” Dean asked. 

She rolled her eyes, “One of them shook up a can, and sprayed it on me. They pretended that they didn’t know it would happen. I borrowed one of Ericka’s hoodie’s to cover it up. I told her that I spilled it on myself. That way no drama would break out and ruin her party.”

“Wait, that means MY shirt got soda all over it.” 

She shrugged, “Sorry?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed, “And then you went and hid?”

“Yeah.”

Dean looked at Seth, “So what exactly did YOU do?”

Tatum giggled, “He walked into a high school party, wearing a Neidhart hat and hoodie, making everyone think that he was a ‘Neidhart U’ kid that was picking me up.”

Dean’s eyes widened, “You didn’t.”

“I did.” He smiled.

“All of the girls were staring at him, Uncle Dean,” Tatum explained, “No one knew what to think, they were all googly eyed at him.”

Dean chuckled, “Yeah, he’s kind of good looking, huh?”

Tatum laughed, “Eh, he’s alright.”

“Just alright?” Seth asked with a smile.

“Ok, maybe more than alright.” She teased.

Dean shook his head a little, “Ok so what are we telling your parents?”

“Uh,” Tatum replied, “That I went to the party, and you picked me up at 11?”

“Are they going to grill you for details or anything?” Seth asked.

“Shouldn’t” Tatum replied, “I mean, they’ll ask who was there, who I hung out with, junk like that.”

“Ok. Just say that Seth picked you up. That way you don’t get yourself confused when you’re telling them,” Dean suggested, “He picked you up at 11, came back here, hung out, and you went to sleep. Sound right?”

“Perfect,” She replied, standing up and stretching, “Thank you, I owe you guys big time.”

“We’re good if you keep reading with my kid, ok?” Seth smiled. 

“No problem,” She smiled, “I’m going to crash, I’ll see you guys in the morning ok?”

“Good night, kiddo.” Dean smiled.

“Good night.”

 

****

 

Hey guys, feel free to leave me a line, let me know how I'm doing! Always appreciated and super helpful!


	16. A Sprinkle of Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Seth go through just about every emotion that ever existed, and Sparkle & Captain Rudolph come through in the clutch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This one is extra long, so go grab a snack and enjoy!!

“Daddy. Psst. Daddy. Daddy are you awake?” 

Seth didn’t mean to nap as long as he did on Saturday afternoon. The previous night had completely wiped him out and on top of that, two tiny humans had him and Dean awake at 8. By noon, Seth couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. Dean felt bad, knowing that he definitely contributed to his exhaustion at least three times the previous night. He made the decision to entertain the kids on his own, so Seth could get some much needed rest.

It was now fading away as Seth felt himself being poked on the cheek. Seth blinked a couple of times, the ceiling starting to come into focus, “Hm?” he mumbled, the comfort of Dean’s bed not wanting him to move.

“Do I look ok?” Annabelle asked quietly.

Seth rubbed his eyes, then slowly sat up. He blinked a few more times, before focusing on his daughter sitting next to him, “Wow,” he smiled, “That looks VERY pretty.”

Annabelle looked down at her red sparkly dress, picked out for that day’s festivities, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m very sure.”

“Do you think Santa will like it?” 

“Of course he will,” He chuckled, “Why wouldn’t he?”

She shrugged a little, giving Seth a small idea of what was going on.

“You nervous to meet Santa?” he asked, giving her a small poke on her nose.

She looked up and nodded, “Very nervous.”

“What could you be nervous about, baby?” he asked sympathetically, “You’ve been VERY good this year, and VERY nice to everyone, Santa will be so happy to see you.”

She shrugged a little bit, “I’ve never met anyone famous before.”

Seth closed his eyes, trying his best not to break out laughing, “Baby, you’ve met Santa before, you just don’t remember. It’ll be fine. Do you want me to come? I know you and Seb said that you didn’t need us to, but I still can if you want.”

Annabelle thought for a minute. She and Sebastian had a major, top secret, state of the art mission to accomplish when they met Santa. None of the grown ups could know about it, it was THAT important. They had been planning it for weeks. 

“No, I’ll be ok Daddy,” She replied, giving him a small smile, “Can um….can you do my hair? I have a new bow that goes with my dress.”

“Let me guess,” Seth replied, “That was all Aunt Gemma and Tatum wasn’t it?”

“Uh huh,” She smiled, “They’re good picker-outers.”

“Yeah, they sure are.”

***

Gemma had to remind herself that next year she would bring the kids earlier to meet Santa. The plan sounded perfect at first. She’d take the kids, the guys would have time to hang out while they were out. Of course, they’d be making dinner too, which might end up being pizza knowing them. But when she got to the mall, she slightly began to regret the decision. 

“Next year we’re doing this in November.” She said to Tatum.

Tatum laughed, “Yeah, tell me about it.”

Rylan nodded, “Definitely.”

Gemma was a little puzzled at why Sebastian and Annabelle were adamant about their father’s not coming along. It seemed like something they would WANT them apart of, not the opposite. She didn’t question them about it, figuring that the truth would eventually come out. 

Santa’s Village was in the very center of the bottom floor of the mall. It was everything that a child could ever want to see. The line was on a pathway with a red and white stripes like those of a candy cane. A white picket fence lined the pathway, while fake fluffy snow covered the ground. There was an enormous lit up Christmas tree that went up to the next level of the mall, while a mechanical Rudolph greeted everyone. People that were dressed as elves were helping to keep the line move along, and handing out candy canes. Wrapped presents were scattered in the snow, some of the them over three feet tall. On the inside, was what all the children anxious waited for. To step foot into what looked like Santa’s living room where he and Mrs. Claus were happily sitting. The fireplace had a holographic fire “lit” inside of it, while stockings hung above. The windows were full of frost, and a photographer stood a few feet away, snapping photos.

“Oh my gosh.” Sebastian said, staring up at the Christmas tree.

Annabelle grabbed on to Tatum’s hand, “Wow.”

Tatum scooped her up, pointing around to show her all of the different things, while Rylan did the same with Sebastian. Into the line they went, Annabelle smiling at all of the decorations. When one of the elves brought her a candy cane, she couldn’t help giggling. 

The line seemed to go on for hours and hours for the kids, but in reality was only about 20 minutes. Before they realized it, an elf-lady was escorting them over to Santa and Mrs. Claus’ living room couch. 

“Ho-Ho-Ho!” Santa smiled to them as they walked up.

Annabelle was clutching Sebastian’s hand when he answered with a smile, “Hi Santa! Hi Mrs. Claus!” 

They were both placed on Santa and Mrs. Claus’ laps, facing in so that all four could see and speak to each other. 

“Well hello there.” Santa smiled.

“Hi Santa,” Sebastian smiled back, “I’m Sebastian and she’s Annabelle.”

“Are you brother and sister?” Mrs. Claus asked.

She shook her head, “No, Mrs. Claus we’re best friends.”

“Well,” Santa smiled, looking to them both, “Best friends are very special aren’t they?”

Both of them nodded before he asked, “Have you both been good this year?”

“Yes Santa.” They replied in unison.

“Outstanding,” he answered, “And what would you like for Christmas this year?”

“We um…” Sebastian started, “We don’t want anything for us. We have lots of toys and clothes and games, and we don’t really need anything else.”

“We just want his Papa and my Daddy to be happy,” Annabelle explained, “They work so hard, and they are the best Daddy and Papa in the whole world, and we just want them to be happy.”

Sebastian nodded, “They just found each other, and they should be happy together.”

“They deserve to.” Annabelle finished.

Annabelle and Sebastian would never see Mrs. Claus wipe the tear from her eye after she heard their request. Santa smiled brightly at them, “That is the sweetest, nicest thing that anyone has told me all year. You are both remarkably caring and sweet children. Let me just tell you though, I know that your Daddy and Papa are already very happy. Both of you make them happy every single day, and they make each other happy. But for Christmas this year, I’ll sprinkle them some more, just for you two, alright?”

Both of their eyes lit up, and Annabelle let out a giggle, “Thank you Santa.”

Sebastian nodded, “Thank you.”

They smiled for their picture, and then said their goodbyes to Santa and Mrs. Claus. Smiling brightly, they ran to the exit where Gemma and Rylan were waiting. Tatum caught up a minute later. Little did they know, she was off the side recording the entire exchange.

“How did it go?!” Gemma asked.

“Good!” Sebastian replied.

“Super extra good!” Annabelle added.

“Awesome,” She smiled, “Let’s go get your picture, and we’ll start shopping ok?”

“Ok!”

~~~

“Skip-skip-skip,” Annabelle sang to herself as she skipped through the mall, “Jump!” she exclaimed, stopping and jumping. 

“Slow down, Shortcake,” Tatum laughed, a few steps behind her, “My skipping days are long over.”

Annabelle turned and giggled, “What store are we going to next?”

Tatum pointed ahead, “Old Navy.”

“That’s where we got my dress, right?” She asked wide eyed, while they walked ahead.

“Yup, and hopefully outfits for Christmas.”

“I think this is my most favorite store.” She smiled.

“What about The Disney Store?” Tatum teased.

“After that.” 

“What about the pet store?”

“Ok, after that too!”

Tatum smiled, “And Michaels?”

“Ok ok!” She giggled, “I have lots of favorites!”

“Of course you do,” She replied, as they walked into Old Navy, “You’re a girl.”

They started in the Women’s section, where Tatum looked through the folded shirts on the tables. Annabelle watched her intently, “I like the pink one.”

She looked up and raised her eyebrow, “Go figure. If you had your way I’d be walking around looking like a glitter unicorn.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Tatum shook her head and smiled, walking over to a stand with strapless blouses, “Think my Dad would let me wear this?” She asked, pulling out a red one with black trim.

“Yeah,” Annabelle replied, “When you’re like 40.”

She glared at her, “Very funny.”

Annabelle giggled, then started skipping towards the other side of the section. Her eyes widened when she saw a rounder with jeans on it. With a smirk, she climbed into the center of it, peaking out at Tatum.

“I can see you!” Tatum laughed, walking towards the rounder. 

“I see you too!”

“See anything good in there?”

“Um,” She answered looking around, “Oh! I found a dollar!”

“What?!” Tatum laughed.

Annabelle picked it up off the ground, “Yup.”

“Only you would find a dollar hiding in clothes.”

She shrugged, “I’m lucky I guess.”

Then a voice from behind her caused Tatum to freeze instantly, “Ew! Is that Tatum?”

“Oh no.” Tatum whispered.

“What?” Annabelle whispered back.

Tatum squeezed her eyes shut, “It’s them.”

“Who?”

“There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.” She whispered. 

Annabelle’s face fell. The situation must be bad if Tatum was pretending to be Dorothy. 

Slowly Tatum turned around, her stomach dropping when she came face to face with two girls. The two girls responsible for the soda that ended up all over her shirt at the party. Both were dressed in ripped jeans and tank tops that weren’t age appropriate. The blonde, Miranda popped her gum while the brunette, Amy, stood there glaring at Tatum.

“What- what do you want?” Tatum stuttered.

Miranda smirked, “What’s Daddy’s credit card buying you today?”

“I’m surprised you’re actually out shopping in public, rich bitch. Don’t you spoiled brats have people do it for you?”

“Your Dad’s a doctor, how come he hasn’t gotten you face surgery yet? He has to know someone that can do it.”

A couple more insults flew from them, until a small flame lit inside of Annabelle and she quietly appeared from behind Tatum. Both Miranda and Amy’s faces fell soft and Miranda spoke, “Awe. Are you lost little girl?”

Instead of answering them, Annabelle looked up at Tatum, “Tatum are you almost done talking to the ugly girls? I’d like to finish shopping if that’s ok.” she asked ever so sweetly.

It took everything inside of Tatum to keep her composure as she scooped Annabelle up, “Yup, all done talking to the ugly girls, we can go.”

“Did she call us ugly?” Miranda asked.

Annabelle turned her head, “Yes. You’re very ugly.”

“How am I ugly?” She asked in disbelief.

Without missing a beat Annabelle replied, “You have a bunch of pimples and your ears are big and you look like my Elf on the Shelf. But mine’s prettier and has a better outfit.”

Both girls faces fell and Tatum channeled everything inside of her to keep from laughing, “Annabelle sweetie that’s not nice, we need to take the high road, ok?”

She nodded then glared at the girls, “Why don’t they take the high road?”

“Because they’re from the gutter,” Tatum smirked, “They don’t know anything about roads. C’mon let’s go.”

Tatum and Annabelle left both girls stunned, while Annabelle gave them a small wave and an innocent grin. Tatum giggled into Annabelle’s shoulder as they made it into the little girls section of the store.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” Tatum smiled to her after she put her down, “Thanks.”

Annabelle folded her arms, “What about your friends? Don’t they help you when kids are being mean to you?”

Tatum shook her head, “No. They’re all afraid of those two girls.”

“But why? They’re nothing special.” 

Tatum rolled her eyes, “They’re just VERY mean.”

“Hey!” Rylan exclaimed, running up to them with Sebastian, “You’ll never believe what we just saw.”

“What?!” Annabelle and Tatum asked.

“Miranda and Amy were leaving when we walked in and Miranda was crying!” Rylan explained, wide eyed with a smile.

Both Tatum and Annabelle looked at each other, before Tatum reached out and gave her a hi-five.

 

***

“We’re home!” Rylan called as he walked in the front door, “Where are you guys?”

“Kitchen!” Dean called back.

“How was the mall?” Seth smiled from his chair, as Gemma and the kids excitedly walked in.

Dean was sitting next to him, while Roman worked around in the kitchen, getting dinner ready. 

Annabelle jumped into Seth’s lap, “Fun! We saw Santa and I got a dress!” 

Before Seth could answer, Sebastian blurted out, “Annabelle made a big girl cry!”

“SEBASTIAN!” Rylan, Tatum and Annabelle shouted at him.

“You weren’t supposed to say anything!” Rylan yelled at him, “We can’t EVER tell you ANYTHING!” 

Sebastian folded his arms and glared at Rylan, “You don’t have to be so mean!”

“Well keep your mouth shut!” He fired back, “That’s something Tatum had to tell my parents, and we TOLD you that!” 

“OK WOAH!” Roman exclaimed, silencing everyone, “Sebastian, Rylan, your rooms, NOW.”

Rylan looked angrily at Sebastian, “This is YOUR fault!”

“Shut up Stupid-Head!” Sebastian shot back, almost in tears.

“Hey!” Dean said to his son, standing up and pointing out of the kitchen, “Go to your room. NOW.”

Sebastian frowned, then ran out of the kitchen in a tantrum. When they heard his bedroom door slam, Roman looked to Rylan, “Go.”

“But I-”

“GO.”

Rylan rolled his eyes, then left the kitchen and headed for his own room.

“NOW,” Roman began, looking to his daughter, “Start over.”

Tatum swallowed and then began to explain, “We were in Old Navy, and Miranda and Amy were there.”

Roman’s eyebrows raised at the names, “Seriously?”

Gemma’s face began to get red, “Where was I?!”

“Sephora.”

“What did they say to you?!” 

Tatum glanced down, “They were just saying their normal stuff to me. You know.”

Roman’s face fell sympathetic while Gemma got angry, “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Why?!” Tatum shot back, “So you can call their Mommy’s again that way I get made fun of for months AGAIN?!”

“Tatum don’t raise your voice at your mother,” Roman said, still keeping his cool, “Gem, kick it down a notch.”

Quietly, Dean whispered into Seth’s ear, “Girls from last night. Shhhh.”

Seth’s eyes widened in shock, before going back to what was playing out in the kitchen, “So where does Annabelle come in to all of this?” Gemma asked.

Annabelle slid off of Seth’s lap and began to explain, “I was hiding in the clothes, then the two girls came over. They were not being nice to Tatum and they were saying mean things to her. So I came out from under the clothes, and asked Tatum if she could stop talking to the ugly girls so we could go shopping.”

“They couldn’t believe that she called them ugly,” Tatum continued, “They even asked her about it, and Annabelle told them that they had pimples and looked like her Elf on the Shelf. Except her elf is prettier and dressed better.”

“Annabelle,” Seth blurted out, “Did you really say that?”

She nodded shyly, “Then Tatum told me that I shouldn’t, and that I should take the high road. But the other girls don’t use a road because they live in the gutter. Then we left.”

“Holy crap,” Dean said, “She said that to them? To Miranda and Amy?”

“Yup,” Tatum replied, “Then when Rylan and Seb walked into the store, they saw Miranda walking out crying.”

“Oh my God, that’s awesome.” Dean smiled.

“Wh…” Seth started, “Why do they give you such a hard time? What is there deal?!” 

“Those two girls have been bullying Tatum since they were in Middle School,” Gemma explained, “No matter what I do, who I talk to, or how we go about it, they are relentless. They get other kids in on it too, it’s a mess.”

Annabelle’s eyes were wide, “What?!” She asked, clearly upset, “But why?! Why did they make fun of you and call you rich?! That’s not a bad thing!” 

“Slow down Shortcake,” Seth chuckled, reaching out and pulling her up into his lap, “Breathe.”

Tatum rolled her eyes, “They’re super jealous. It’s not just me though, there’s other kids they make fun of for the same reason. They don’t like me because I’m good at soccer and every year I make the team over them. This year I made Varsity as a Freshman and they’re only on JV.”

“So, let me get this right,” Seth started, “They are using the fact that your parents work super hard, have a nice house, and well…money, against you? Oh, and that you’re good at sports? What is that?!”

“Tell me about it,” Gemma said, rolling her eyes, “But that’s the thing. There’s at least 10 different neighborhoods of kids that go to that school. There’s kids that go there whose parents have more money than we do. There’s also kids that don’t at all. Unfortunately, that’s something that they bully each other about.”

“No matter if you’re on the higher end or lower end?” Seth asked, “That blows my mind, how do you make fun of someone for having MORE than you?”

“Jealously,” Roman replied, “That’s exactly what it is. It’s also parents that never teach there kids that they’re NOT supposed to bully other kids.”

“Well, those two girls don’t exactly have winners for parents anyway.” Gemma scoffed.

“So long story short,” Dean started, “Annabelle sent those two girls packing?”

Tatum nodded, “She’s a slick one. She had this innocent little face, both of them stopped and looked at her because she’s so cute. Then she asked me so nicely if I was done talking to the ugly girls.”

Dean was worthless from laughter at that point, “How did the elf come up?”

“Because she asked me HOW she was ugly. I told her she had big ears like my elf.” Annabelle explained.

“Good job Shortcake,” Dean smiled, “Those girls are the worst.”

She grinned and then innocently asked, “What’s a rich bitch?”

“WOAH!” Dean and Seth exclaimed at the same time, while Tatum covered her mouth, Gemma’s jaw fell open and Roman dropped the salad tongs. 

“What-What?!” Annabelle exclaimed, getting upset, “What did I do?! Am I in trouble?!”

“Annabelle listen,” Seth said, turning her to face him, “You’re not in trouble, because you didn’t know better ok? But, and I’m only saying this once. That’s a very VERY bad word. You are not at ANY time allowed to say it, ok?”

She nodded, “I’m sorry I just wanted to know what it meant and why they called her that. It’s real bad?”

“Real bad.” All of them replied at once.

“Worse than Stupid-Head?” She asked Seth.

“WAY worse,” Seth replied, “Worse than the WORST word you can think of.”

Her face fell, “Why would they say that then?”

“Because they are VERY mean girls,” Gemma explained, “VERY mean.”

“Only mean girls who live in the gutter say that stuff Annabelle.” Tatum added.

“And if you ever hear Seb say it, slap him.” Dean said with a smirk.

Annabelle gave him a small smirk back, then looked back up at Seth, “I’m sorry Daddy, I won’t ever say it again.”

He smirked and kissed her forehead, “I know.”

Still trying to absorb what had happened, and wanting to talk amongst the adults, Dean looked to Tatum, “Hey Tatum, take The Shortcake for a bit, so we can talk.”

She smiled, “Ok Uncle Dean.”

“Daddy?” Annabelle asked, looking at him, “Am I in trouble?” she asked quietly. 

“No baby, you’re not in trouble,” he replied just as quietly, kissing her forehead, “Go hang out with Tatum for a little while until dinner, ok?”

“Ok.” She answered, kissing him on his nose and then heading off with Tatum.

“I don’t even know what to think,” Roman said, as started to mix dressing into the bowl of salad he had been preparing, “You know those girls are nothing but trouble.”

“Do you think this will make things worse?” Gemma asked him.

He shrugged, “I really hope not, but kids are ridiculous. I’m not really sure what could be WORSE than what they’ve already done to her. Well, without some type of embarrassing ammo I supposed.”

“I guess we’ll find out after school Monday.” Dean sighed.

“If something happens….” Gemma started.

“I know,” Dean interrupted, “I have to pick her up from school, you’re both working.”

“You’ve done this before?” Seth asked with a smirk.

“Most of the time it’s been because one of them is sick. But, there’s been a couple where I needed to go get Tatum because she was so upset because of those girls.”

Seth felt terrible for Tatum. She was such a nice, sweet girl, she got good grades and Annabelle adored her. Why would anyone WANT to be mean to her?

“I need to also know where my kid got this magical bravery to stick up to a couple of teenagers,” Seth said, “She gets overwhelmed in a room full of people, but can mouth off to two kids she doesn’t even know?”

Dean shrugged, “I guess we’ll ask her later.”

“I have a question for you Seth,” Gemma started, “Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like Annabelle has this constant fear of doing something wrong and being in trouble. Am I right or imagining it?”

“You’re right.” Dean and Seth answered at the same time.

“I have absolutely NO idea why,” Seth said, “No idea. I’ve asked her, I’ve tried to pay attention to almost everything and nothing makes sense.”

“Did she have a teacher or a relative that used to be really strict or something?” Roman asked.

“I have no clue. It’s not like I’m a hard ass on her either. She hardly EVER does anything really wrong. You know, that I’d have to even raise my voice or send her to her room or anything.”

Dean rolled his eyes, “Trade kids with you.”

“Speaking of.” Roman said, leaving the kitchen and heading towards the steps. He yelled up the steps for Sebastian, then walked back into the kitchen.

“She seems like she always wants your approval for everything,” Gemma said to Seth, “Almost like she can’t decide things for herself.”

“Maybe she’s just a Daddy’s girl,” Dean suggested, “I mean it’s just you and her, you know?”

“Hi.” Sebastian sniffled, as he appeared in the kitchen, eyes swollen and face flushed. 

Roman looked at him, “You know why we’re mad?”

Sebastian nodded, “Yes.”

“Do you think we should be mad?”

“Yes.”

“That was something that Tatum should have told Uncle Roman and Aunt Gemma,” Dean said to his son, “Did you see what happened when you came in here and shouted it out? Everyone got upset. That’s exactly why you were told NOT to say anything about it.”

“Your dad’s right,” Gemma added, “Tatum should have been the one to tell us what happened, not you. That was rude and uncalled for, little man.”

“I’m sorry.” he sniffled, trying not to cry again. 

“Listen to me,” Roman said firmly, “You do something like that again, and they’re not going to want you to go anywhere with them anymore.”

His eyes widened and tears began to fall, “I’m sorry,” he repeated, “I don’t know why I did it, it just came out.”

“Because you were wound up and not thinking?” Dean asked.

Sebastian looked down and shrugged a little bit, “I just thought it was really cool.”

“And your big mouth got too excited?” Roman asked.

He nodded, “Yes.”

Roman shook his head a little, “You’re going to blurt something out one day and it’s going to hurt someone’s feelings. You need to get that under control kiddo.”

As more tears fell down Sebastian’s face, Seth felt his heart start to hurt, “Hey, come here dude.”

Sebastian looked up at Seth in surprise, unsure why anyone would want to be near him. Slowly he walked over, Seth picking him up into his arms. Sebastian clung on around Seth’s neck tightly while he rubbed his back, “Listen to me. Slow down, stop crying. Ok?”

Sebastian sniffled and nodded into Seth’s neck. Sure, Seth knew that the kid needed to learn a lesson for what he did, that went without saying. It also went without saying that after everything, he’d probably be afraid to say another word for the rest of his life. Seth could see that Sebastian was past the point of apologies and being embarrassed. He definitely needed some help with calming down, as to avoid another disaster. 

“Listen to me, ok?” Seth started, his voice not carrying too much softness or sympathy.

He nodded, and pulled away to look at him.

“Don’t get snot on my shirt.” He smirked.

Sebastian smiled through his tears, while Dean handed him a tissue, “I won’t.” He answered, wiping his eyes and nose.

“Think you can keep it together for the rest of the night?” Seth asked him, “Everyone just saw Santa, we’re having a fun night. Can you keep it cool, or do you need to go home?”

His eyes widened and he shook his head, “No, no I can stay here.”

“You need to go upstairs and apologize to everyone for what you did ok?”

Sadly he nodded, “Yes. But can I stay here for just another minute?”

Seth nodded, “Yes, you can.” 

He was surprised when Sebastian wrapped his arms back around his neck and held on tightly. Seth squeezed him back, listening while his sniffles slowly subsided. He gently rubbed his back, looking to Dean with a look of almost confusion.

Dean understood it. His son was pretty embarrassed, and he knew he was wrong. Roman struck the fear of God in him, and he probably felt like every single person in the house was against him. That had to be incredibly overwhelming for him. Even though Sebastian was technically in trouble, Seth was right with the way he calmed him down. 

“You and Annabelle going to have a fashion show later tonight?” Seth asked, “Show us your Christmas outfits?”

Sebastian pulled away and nodded with a very small grin, “Yeah.”

“Sounds good, dude.”

“Hey Seb,” Dean said to him, “Uncle Roman almost has dinner ready. Go upstairs and let them know ok? Make sure you apologize too.”

“Ok.” He answered.

Quietly, Seth said into Sebastian’s ear, “You own me a football team later, too.”

“Ok!” he smiled, before climbing off of Seth’s lap and running out of the kitchen.

Dean put his face down on the table and let out a groan, “All this just to see Santa.”

Seth smirked, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” 

 

***

“Ok, who ya got?” Seth smiled.

He was sitting up in bed with his arm around Sebastian while the laptop sat in the middle of them. Their map of the United States was on the screen, and now had a small star emoji over San Francisco.

“Hm,” Sebastian thought to himself, “How about The Ravens?”

“Ok, we can do the Ravens,” Seth answered, “Do you know their full name?”

“Baltimore Ravens.” He smiled.

“Perfect,” Seth replied, “Where do you think they are?”

Sebastian studied the map for a second and then pointed to Kansas, “There?”

Seth chuckled, “Nope. Not there. They’re all the way over here,” he explained, pointing to the East Coast, “This really little kind of silly looking state right here is Maryland. That’s where they are.”

He blinked, “What? That little? There’s a football team there?”

Seth couldn’t help laughing, “Yeah.”

“Why are they the Ravens?”

“Well,” Seth began, “There was a man who lived in Baltimore a REALLY long time ago….”

“Really long ago, like longer than the 49ers?”

“Yes,” He replied with a smile, “Exactly. This man’s name was Edgar Allan Poe, and he was a famous writer. He wrote a poem that was called ‘The Raven’, and that’s where the team name came from.”

“From a poem?!” He asked, wide eyed, “Woah, that’s so weird.”

“I know, right? Football and poems. Strange, huh?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, reaching for his notebook and pencil, “How do you spell ostrich all in bow?”

“Edgar Allan Poe?” Seth chuckled.

Sebastian giggled, “Yeah, that.”

Just as Seth and Sebastian were finishing up, Dean walked in from his shower. He threw a pair of sweatpants on over his boxers, “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” Sebastian yawned, closing his notebook.

“What story do you feel like tonight?” Dean asked.

He shrugged and climbed from the bed, “I don’t know, I have to look.”

“Cause both of them don’t have their book inventory memorized or something.” Seth shot sarcastically.

“Hi,” Annabelle said quietly when she walked into the room with a book in her hand, “Is it story time yet?”

“Yeah, we were just talking about that,” Dean replied, “What do you have there?”

“The Wizard of Oz.” She smiled. 

“No way,” Sebastian frowned, “I don’t like that one.”

“Ok fine,” Dean replied, “Seth and Annabelle can read that. Me and you can go find something else ok?”

Sebastian nodded approvingly, then left the room with Dean. Annabelle watched them leave, shaking her head a little, trying to understand how someone could *not* like the Wizard of Oz. 

“You coming?” Seth asked.

Grinning, Annabelle climbed onto the bed and handed Seth the book. Tatum had given it to her, along with a few other chapter books that she no longer read. Annabelle loved them, and loved even more when she got to read them with Seth. She snuggled up into Seth’s chest securely, getting wrapped in his embrace, “We’re in chapter 3.” She reminded him. 

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, “Can we talk for a minute, first?”

She twisted around slightly so she could face him, “Uh huh.”

He gave her a small smirk, “I just want to make sure that we both understand some things ok?”

“Uh-huh.”

“If someone is picking on you, what do you do?”

“Try to ignore them.” She replied.

“What happens if it gets really bad?”

“Tell my teacher or Seb or a grown up.”

“Good. Is it ok for you to make fun of someone?”

Instead of answering she replied with her own question, “Daddy what do I do if there’s girls who are SO mean to me, like those girls are to Tatum? Tatum was all by herself today, what should I do?”

He sighed, “If you feel threatened, or scared, then stick up for yourself. Let them have it. Like the situation today with Tatum, when she was all by herself. You never say mean things like you told those girls today, unless you absolutely have to. Right?”

“Right.”

“I think it was really cool that you stuck up for Tatum today. You really did her a big favor, and I know she appreciates it.”

“She told me that no one has ever done that for her before,” Annabelle explained, “That all of her friends are afraid of those girls.”

“Yeah, Dean told me that,” He started, “What made you suddenly decide to say something though? That’s not like you at all.”

She shrugged, “She really needed help Daddy, and it really made me mad, those girls were scary.” 

“Yeah, that’s what Dean was telling me,” he started, “I’m proud of you for being so brave.”

Annabelle smirked back, while Seth crinkled his nose in hopes of keeping her relaxed for his next few questions, “So, let me ask you something. I need you to think REALLY hard for me ok?”

She nodded, “Ok.”

“Before we moved here, do you remember anyone being mean to you? Like a grown up? Maybe a teacher, or someone’s mommy or daddy?”

“I…I don’t…I don’t know.” She stuttered.

Seth sighed, knowing she was hiding something, “Ok, tell me something else then. Why are you always so afraid that I’m going to be mad at you? Or that you’re in trouble?”

“Because I don’t want you to be mad at me.” She answered, with tears threatening.

“But baby, you know the difference between right and wrong. You know what you should and shouldn’t do. Do you get confused sometimes?”

Tears began to fall as she shook her head, “No.”

“Then what’s wrong?” 

She shrugged again, “I don’t know.”

“Well that didn’t take long,” Dean said, as he walked back into the room, “He was knocked out before I was halfway done.” He climbed onto the bed so that Annabelle was now in the middle, “What’s up?” he asked, sitting up next to Seth.

Annabelle shrugged while Seth explained, “Just trying to figure out what’s going on in her pretty little head.”

Dean reached up and playfully poked her ear lobe, “What’s going on in there?” 

She smirked a little but then shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Seth was certain that he almost had the truth out of her. Going back to where he started, he asked again, “So are you sure that no one was ever mean to you? You can tell us baby, it’s alright.”

“We won’t tell anyone,” Dean reassured, “And you won’t be in any trouble and we won’t be mad. Don’t worry.”

She looked up at Dean, her eyes full of sadness, “Promise?”

“Promise.” Both of them replied in unison. 

Annabelle swallowed and took a breath before quietly explaining, “Grandma used to say that you would get rid of me if I wasn’t good.”

“What?!” Seth asked, his heart shattering, “When?! You were only there if I was!” 

“Seth.” Dean said, trying to keep him grounded so he didn’t upset Annabelle anymore.

“Annabelle,” Dean started calmly, “Tell us what happened, ok?”

“Are you mad?” She squeaked.

“Not at you,” Dean answered, “Not at you ok? We promised, right?”

She nodded a little, “It was at Auntie Ellen’s.”

Dean looked at Seth for an explanation, “My Mom’s sister,” Seth swallowed, “She babysat Annabelle when I was at work.”

He nodded, “Ok Shortcake, it’s ok. Keep going.” 

“Sometimes she’d come over there. She’d tell me that if I wasn’t good that my Daddy wouldn’t come home for me. Or he’d get rid of me and I’d never see him again.”

“Oh my God,” Seth breathed, tears falling down his face, “Jesus Christ, I didn’t know she did that.”

“Daddy, bad word.” She whispered.

“It’s ok,” Dean said, wrapping his arm around Seth, “It’s fine.”

Seth sniffled, pulling Annabelle up into his arms and hugging her tightly. He never wanted to cry in front of his daughter, but at that second in time, everything crashed, “I’m sorry.”

“Daddy please don’t cry!” Annabelle said, pulling away to look at him, “I’m sorry!” 

“Annabelle,” Dean said calmly, putting his hand on her back, “This is NOT your fault. This is your mean, nasty grandma’s fault, ok? No one else’s fault but hers. Understand?”

She nodded, as Seth glanced to Dean, “I hate her,” he choked, “I…I…shouldn’t have…” 

“Seth, you didn’t know,” Dean reassured, putting his arm across both of them so he had them wrapped up, “You were at work, what else were you supposed to do?”

Swallowing hard, he answered, “I know,” before looking back to Annabelle, “I’m so sorry that she told you that.”

Annabelle shrugged a little, “It’s ok Daddy.”

“So,” Dean started, “Have you always thought that, Annabelle? That your daddy would leave you if you were bad? Even now?”

The conflicted look on her face told Dean what he needed to know, “You weren’t sure, were you?”

“I…” she stopped and looked up at her Dad, “You always said that it was me and you. So I know that you wouldn’t do that. But I was still scared sometimes.”

“Annabelle, you know that it was all lies that she told you right? That we’ll NEVER get rid of you, right?” Dean asked.

She nodded, “Uh huh.” 

Dean felt absolutely terrible, wishing there was some magical way to fix what was going on. Seth’s tears started to subside, which in turn calmed Annabelle down. 

“Everything’s ok,” Dean said to both of them, kissing Seth’s forehead and then the top of Annabelle’s head, “That was a very long time ago, and we don’t have to worry about it anymore, ok?”

Annabelle nodded, “Ok.”

Seth sighed, “I don’t know what to do now. Part of me is so angry right now.”

“Not at you,” Dean immediately said to Annabelle, “At the situation, ok?”

She nodded, then leaned up and gave Seth a kiss on his cheek, “Daddy it’s ok. Please don’t be upset.”

Seth’s insides melted at Annabelle’s words, and the reassuring grin she was giving him, “I’m ok.” he replied.

“I love you.” She said, poking his nose.

He smiled, “I love you too.”

“Shortcake,” Dean started, “Anything we talked about in here tonight needs to stay quiet ok? It’s no one’s business ok? Not Seb, not Tatum, not anyone. At least until we figure this out, ok?”

She already knew this without being told. Her Daddy was upset, and Dean was trying to help. She knew it was very serious, “I know Mr. Dean. I won’t tell anyone. But Sparkle will know.”

Both Seth and Dean smiled, “What? How?” Dean asked.

“Because she is always checking in on me. She’s probably hiding in here right now, so she’ll know too.” She replied matter-of-factly. 

“Ohhhhhh,” Dean grinned, while Seth nodded a long, “That makes sense. Ok, well Sparkle can’t tell anyone though.”

“She won’t. She doesn’t really talk anyway.” She smiled.

Dean burst out laughing while Seth shook his head and smiled at his daughter, “You’re silly, you know that?”

Annabelle giggled, “I know.”

“So, do you still feel like some Wizard of Oz?” Dean asked.

Her eyes widened and she nodded, “Yes.”

Dean reached over and picked the book up from next to them, flipping to where the bookmark held the page. He got snuggled in with Seth and Annabelle then began, “When Dorothy was left alone……”

 

***

Dean’s eyes fluttered open in the middle of the night. Maybe it was some kind of sense he had developed that he knew when Seth wasn’t sleeping well. Looking over, he saw Seth sitting up against the headboard and looking at his phone. Annabelle was sound asleep in between them, dreaming away. 

“Hey.” Dean whispered, reaching over and resting his hand on Seth’s arm, “You ok?”

Seth shrugged a little, his eyes focused on his phone and something he was reading. Dean sighed, shifting around and getting out of bed, “Gonna put her to bed ok?”

He looked up and nodded, Dean scooping Annabelle up in his arms and leaving the room. He was back shortly after, climbing back into bed and facing Seth. Gently, he took his phone away and tossed it to the side, then reached over and held his hand, “Talk to me.”

“I-” he stopped to get his thoughts together, “It’s um, it’s considered emotional abuse, what she did.”

Dean sighed, “Is that what you were reading?”

He nodded, “Purdue has a lot of studies and articles about it.”

Dean raised his eyebrow, “The chicken?”

“Purdue University.” He replied with a small laugh. 

“Oh. I mean, I suppose if chickens went to college, that would be their first choice.”

Closing his eyes, Seth smiled, “What’s wrong with you?”

Dean laid down and stretched out next to him, “You want me to name just one thing?”

“Good point,” Seth teased, before getting himself comfortable facing Dean, “She doesn’t seem messed up though right? I mean, sure she’s clingy to me, but do you notice anything else?”

“Baby, relax,” Dean replied, running his hand over Seth’s hair, “She’s not messed up at all. Was that something you read?”

Seth nodded, “Yeah I mean, I’m just scared that I missed something. Plus I have to keep an eye on that sort of thing to start with, now there’s this and I just….”

“Stop,” Dean interrupted, giving him a small soft kiss, “Breathe baby. She’s a completely normal, goofy, smart, emotionally sound little girl, ok? She’s clingy, that’s all. That’s normal for kids to start with. Especially since you’re a single parent. We got to the bottom of her worrying about getting in trouble. We know what it’s from, so now we can fix it, ok? Everything’s alright.”

“You sure?” He asked quietly.

He nodded, “I’m positive.”

“I mean, are you sure you want to deal with this too?”

“If it were the other way around, would you?”

The sadness lifted out of Seth’s eyes at Dean’s words, knowing that he was right. He sighed to himself before asking, “If you were me, what would you do? With my parents?”

“That’s not something I can decide for you, baby. That’s your family, not mine.”

“How hard was it for you?”

“I -” he paused as he thought back for a second, “When I realized what they were doing was wrong, it became easier. When I realized that they didn’t care about me, or what was happening to me, the decision was easier. I had Roman and Gemma there the whole time too, so whenever I did feel bad or second guess myself, they were my support.”

He nodded then asked, “I can’t decide if I want to call her and absolutely let her have it, or just never intentionally speak to her again.”

“In my opinion, if you have things you want to say to her, then say them. Don’t wait, and let it linger over your head constantly. You’ll always wonder when she’ll call you again, and what you’ll say when she does. I mean write her a letter if you want. You just don’t what it to consume you baby, believe me.”

Seth didn’t respond, letting Dean’s words process through his mind. Then for no reason in particular, he was struck by a memory, “It was my Aunt Ellen’s birthday,” he said, “We were at my parents house, all of my aunts and uncles and cousins were there. Everyone was fussing over Annabelle, they all made her the center of attention. Her and her cousins were playing with balloons. We all sat down for dinner, and I hadn’t even taken a bite out of my food when the police showed up.”

“Baby….” Dean said quietly, “You don’t….”

“It’s fine,” he interrupted, “I know my mom didn’t care. She barely flinched. My dad wasn’t there. Everyone else was freaking out. They all loved my sister, even with her life choices. That’s what family does I guess. Annabelle had no idea what happened, but because my entire family went postal it made her upset. I just got up with her and left. A week later, I was buying a new house. The week after that we were here. It’s just stupid.”

“Yeah, the situation is stupid. But remember something. We wouldn’t be laying here right now if it hadn’t of played out that way.”

“I know,” he sighed, “It’s fine, I’m ok. It’s just a lot.”

“Sleep on it, ok?” Dean said, reaching up and holding the side of his face, “We’ll figure it out tomorrow. Whatever you decide, I’m right there with you ok?”

Seth smirked, reaching up and holding onto Dean’s hand. He brought it over and kissed his palm, then sighed and turned to his back, “I just want to erase this day. Forget it, make it not exist, something, I don’t care.”

“I wish I could magically do it for you,” he answered, “It’s technically over by the way.”

Shifting his eyes to the clock, he realized that it was in fact now Sunday, “Ok, you win that one.”

Dean chuckled, kissing his shoulder a couple of times. Then he was struck by a thought, “Oh,” he said, wide eyed, “I totally forgot.”

“Forgot what?” Seth asked as Dean sat up and grabbed his phone.

“I don’t know actually,” He replied, “Tatum sent me something earlier and told me not to open it until we were alone.”

“Oh, that can’t be good.”

Dean shrugged, as Seth sat up next to him. Dean put his arm around him, letting Seth curl into his chest. He held the phone with his free hand, keeping it between them. The video from Tatum’s text came up, showing Sebastian and Annabelle sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. The entire exchange between the four of them played on Dean’s phone, while both of them watched, speechless. 

When it was over, Dean had tears forming while Seth already had them sliding down his face, “Those two.” Dean sniffled, wiping his eyes.

Seth nodded into his chest, before sniffling hard and looking back up at him, “Are you happy?”

Dean smirked, wiping Seth’s damp cheeks with his thumbs, “The happiest I’ve been in my entire life. Are you happy?”

He smirked back, “Every single day.”

Dean leaned in and gave him a soft kiss, “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

With a shit-eating-grin, Dean purred in Seth’s ear, “I think I should show you…..”

Seth’s eyes widened and he smirked, “I think you should too.”

 

***

“Seb! Seb wake up!”

Sebastian groaned, “Hm?”

“Get up! You have to see what Sparkle and Captain Rudolph did!”

His eyes shot open and he jumped out of bed, taking off with Annabelle downstairs. 

“Holy moly!” He exclaimed, once they were in the living room staring at the front windows.

Sparkle was propelling herself down the cord from the blinds, holding a roll of scotch tape. Captain Rudolph had clearly tried to do the same thing on the other set of blinds but got himself stuck. He was hanging upside down by his legs, with a few random pieces of scotch tape hanging off of him. There were two envelopes taped on the blinds, one for Annabelle and one for Sebastian. Two more rolls of Scotch tape were on the floor, the tape pulled all the way out, some pieces in knots.

“What did they do?!” Sebastian asked, wide eyed.

“I don’t know!”

“What’s going on?” Dean asked with a smirk, coming downstairs with Seth, “What the heck happened in here?!”

“The elves!” Annabelle exclaimed, “It was the elves!”

Seth looked just as surprised as the kids were. He had completely forgotten about moving the elves last night. Clearly, someone else didn’t.

“There’s notes!” Sebastian said, pointing to the taped envelopes, “Papa can you get them?!”

Dean smiled, walking over and carefully peeling the envelopes from the blinds, “Oh wow! They’re from the North Pole!”

“THEY ARE?!”

“Look!” Dean said, pointing to the little sticker that read, “North Pole Express Mail”.

“WOW!” They both replied.

Dean handed Annabelle’s to her, then sat on the floor with Sebastian, “You ready?”

About to bounce through the roof, he nodded, “Yes!

Dean smirked, pulling the letter out of the envelope. It was two pages printed on Christmas Stationary, in a font big enough that both kids could read along with.

“Dear Sebastian. It was so good to see you yesterday,” Dean began, getting a giggle from his son. “I heard from Captain Rudolph that you had QUITE a day. Please remember to be mindful of others and their feelings. Don’t worry, I won’t take you off the Good List this time, and your presents are still piling up. I hope I don’t have to take any away. Take good care of Annabelle, best friend’s are very important. Oh! I almost forgot! I already have the sprinkle of happiness ready to go! Love, your friend Santa.”

“Woaaaaaah.” Sebastian said, his eyes wide and half of him in complete shock.

“I know,” Dean replied, handing him the letter, “He means business, huh?”

Sebastian nodded, “Wow.”

Dean chuckled, he couldn’t believe how much of an impact the letter had on his son. Sebastian was still completely baffled, excited and stunned all at once. He hopped up on the couch, looking over the letter again and again and again. 

He was so distracted that he had completely forgotten about Annabelle and her letter. Dean sat moved over to where she and Seth were sitting, “You guys going to open it?”

“We were waiting for Seb to finish his,” She replied, “But I don’t think that’s going to be for awhile.”

Dean smirked, “I don’t think so either.”

Seth smiled, opening the letter up, “Wow this is REALLY long,” he smirked “Almost three whole pages!”

“I guess Santa has a lot to tell you.” Dean shrugged.

Annabelle giggled as Seth began to quietly read to her, “Dear Annabelle, I’m so happy that I got to see you yesterday! Sparkle has been keeping me informed about how you’re doing, and I understand that yesterday was a bit of a challenge.”

Seth glanced up at Dean who gave him a reassuring look to continue, “It was very brave of you to help Tatum at the mall. I know that she is very thankful to have you as her friend. Don’t worry, those two other girls are on the TOP of the naughty list.”

Annabelle gasped, “The naughty list?”

“Woah,” Dean added, looking at her just as shocked, “Santa isn’t playing around.”

“He sure isn’t,” Seth said, pointing back to where he left off at on the letter so Annabelle could follow along, “Always remember your Daddy loves you more than anything in the world,” Seth stopped to swallow the lump in his throat and then continued, “He’ll always take care of you, and be your best friend. Sometimes Daddy’s can get upset and that’s ok. You’re the only thing he needs to make him feel better.” Seth stopped and sniffled, while he held back his tears, “Only you two can decide what’s important for each other. Mr. Dean and Seb can help, but it’s always you and your Daddy first. You’re both still on the good list, and Sparkle is picking out SO many nice gifts for you both! Love, Santa

Seth looked up at Dean with a smile that could never be duplicated. Annabelle was just as excited, then pointed to a line on the bottom of the paper, “Daddy you missed something.”

“Oh,” he replied, seeing what he had skipped, “PS, your grandma made the naughty list too.”

Annabelle burst out in laughter, while Seth shook his head and smiled more, “Wow,” he said, “That Sparkle is a smart one, isn’t she?”

She nodded, “Yeah, she knows everything!”

Seth looked up at Dean, “It’s almost like she has an assistant.”

“It’s Captain Rudolph!” She replied, “Remember?”

“Exactly,” Dean smirked, “Captain Rudolph’s a sneaky one too.”

“Papa can we watch TV while you’re making breakfast?” Sebastian asked.

“Sure dude.” Dean replied, getting up and grabbing the remote.

Annabelle sprung from the floor and then catapulted onto the couch next to Sebastian, “We’re on the good list!”

He nodded, “Yeah, but that was a close one, whew!” 

Seth and Dean chuckled while Dean found them cartoons to watch and Seth climbed up off the floor. When they made it to the kitchen, Dean already had his arms open for Seth. Neither of them said anything, they didn’t have to. Dean already knew everything that Seth was feeling, and he also knew that he had some decisions to make. He stayed quiet, holding his boyfriend in his arms and leaving small kisses on his cheek. 

“Thank you.” Seth said quietly into Dean’s neck.

“For what?” He answered.

“Existing.”

Dean couldn’t help chuckle, pulling away enough to give him a small kiss on his lips.

Seth smiled, “Those letters were amazing. You fixed both of their worlds with them.”

“It was Santa.” He replied, keeping a straight face.

“Oh,” Seth answered, “Santa huh?”

Dean shrugged, “That’s what it says.”

Seth glanced down and smirked, then let out a small sigh, “Sometimes…..I don’t know, I just feel like I…” 

Dean cut him off, connecting their lips and kissing him until he felt Seth starting to relax, “If you,” Dean started, “Tell me that you don’t deserve me, I’m telling Captain Rudolph.”

Seth couldn’t help chuckling, getting a smile from Dean, “Then he’s going to tell Santa, and you’re going to have some explaining to do.”

“Are you really threatening me with an elf?” Seth giggled.

“Is it working?”

He sighed, “Yes.”

Dean chuckled, pulling Seth into him tightly, “I love you, ok? Don’t forget that, no matter how insane stuff gets, I’m right here with you, ok?”

He nodded and grinned, “I know.”

“I also know that we have some stuff to figure out. Roman’s going to come grab the kids after breakfast, then we can work on that.”

“With my mom?” he asked quietly.

Dean nodded, “Yeah. But let’s do breakfast and stuff, then we’ll deal with it ok?”

“Dean you don’t have to--”

“Captain Rudolph!” Dean shouted, “Where are you?!”

“He’s in here!” Sebastian shouted back form the living room.

Dean smiled to Seth, “Don’t make me get that elf.”

Seth smiled and shook his head, “Ok, you win.”

 

****

How was it? Let me know, if you have a second! Christmas is on the way next!


	17. You Are Loved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Daddy, are you sure Santa didn’t miss us?” Annabelle asked, while Seth and Dean tucked both kids into Sebastian’s bed.
> 
> “Nah,” Seth smiled, “He’s smarter than that.”
> 
> “He wouldn’t miss us,” Dean smirked, “Are you sure you don’t want a story tonight?”
> 
> “We don’t have time,” Sebastian replied, “We have to go to sleep.”
> 
> Dean chuckled, “Well. That’s logic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> First, of course, thanks for all of the comments and kudos. Sometimes I get SO nervous with this, but you guys definitely help a lot with the feedback!
> 
> Get a snack, this is a long one. :)
> 
> Dennis and Duke actually exist in real life, well my life, and I love them both dearly. What I wrote in the scene actually happened at a family party of ours. I thought it fit. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“I want you to stay here tonight.”

Seth’s eyes were still focused down while he sat on the couch. Dean was next to him, waiting for him to respond. After everything that had happened that afternoon, Dean didn’t want Seth out of his sight. Not for a second.

“I can ask Roman to stop by your house when he’s bringing the kids home,” Dean started quietly, “He has a key. Annabelle can get her school stuff and they can go to school from here tomorrow morning.”

Seth swallowed and nodded, still unable to find his words. He continued to hear his mother’s voice in his head after he called and confronted her. Dean was pretty sure that his mother was going to deny everything she said to Annabelle. Probably suggest that Annabelle made it up as well. But Dean was as blown away as Seth was by her reaction.

“How can she possibly remember that?” His mother asked, her voice echoing on the speaker of Seth’s phone, “She was little, there’s no way.”

“So you DID say that to her?” Seth asked, looking at Dean almost horrified.

“Why are you complaining? She behaves doesn’t she?”

“Do you have ANY idea what it did to her?!” Seth shouted, pacing around Dean’s living room.

“If you’re going to blame ANYONE for any problems that child has, blame your idiot whore of a sister!”

Before Seth threw his phone, it was made abundantly clear to his mother, that he didn’t want a thing to do with her ever again. Never to contact him again, even if she or his father were on their death beds. He was done with them, forever. Dropped from his life, just like his mother had done to his sister. 

Seth’s hands were shaking after his phone was launched into the wall. Dean managed to calm him down enough to get him sitting on the couch. He immediately leaned into Dean’s arms, letting his embrace seal him up and protect him from the world. Just like it always did. Dean was bracing himself for Seth to rupture at any given second. Instead, he got one word answers from him, while he kept himself buried in Dean’s arms. That was almost an hour ago. 

“Seth,” Dean said softly, leaving a long kiss on the top of his head, “Please talk to me.”

He swallowed, “I feel like….I’m going to explode but I can’t.”

Dean gently rubbed his back, “I know.”

“I’m too tired. Every time I think I’m going to cry, I can’t. I don’t think I actually have tears left.”

It had been years for Dean, but the feelings that Seth had were all too familiar for him. His stomach was turning just at the mere memory, and knowing that Seth was suffering through it, “Listen to me ok?” He asked quietly. Seth looked up at him and nodded.

“I promise that this will work out, ok? It’s not fair, and it sucks and I’m pretty sure I’d punch your mom in the face if I could. But this is a new reality, and we’ll eventually be able to accept it. Yes it hurts. Parents aren’t supposed to do that shit. But in the long run, you did what was best for Annabelle. Right now, that’s the most important thing, ok?”

Dean’s words clicked in his head, and he slowly nodded as his mind began to function fully again, “Can we go get them?”

“I mean,” Dean replied, looking at his watch, “Sure if you want to. But Roman and Gemma were going to have them for a couple more hours. They’re doing the hot tub and all that fun stuff.”

Seth thought about it for a second. He really didn’t want to cut Annabelle and Sebastian’s day short on his account, “You’re right.”

“Here.” Dean said, pulling out his phone and calling Gemma. 

Gemma knew beforehand the real “reason” that Roman picked the kids up that morning. After getting the details, she was almost expecting Dean and Seth to call. It was unnerving anytime a situation came up with someone’s child and she understood fully.

Annabelle was in the living room with Tatum, both of them reading “The Outsiders”, while Rylan and Sebastian were outside playing basketball. Gemma smiled when she saw how intently Annabelle was following along while they read, “Hey, sorry to interrupt,” she grinned, “The phone’s for you, Shortcake.”

“Ok!” She smiled, as Gemma handed it to her.

“Hello?” She asked.

Dean put the phone on speaker and passed it to Seth, “Hey Shortcake, what are you doing?”

“Hi Daddy!” she exclaimed, “I’m reading with Tatum! Guess what?!”

Seth immediately smiled, just her voice and happiness made his world better, “What?”

“I’m helping her too her homework too!”

“Oh really?” Seth smirked.

“Uh huh! She has to write stuff about the first two chapters that she read! I know some of the answers so I’m helping her!”

“That’s so cool! Good job baby. Are you in Chapter 3 now?”

“Chapter 4.”

“That one gets scary, ok?” Seth warned, “So let Tatum know if you don’t want to read anymore.”

“Ok I will,” She replied, looking at Tatum, “My Daddy said it might get scary ok?”

“Ok, I got it.” Tatum smiled back.

“Daddy, are you and Mr. Dean having a good day?” Annabelle asked.

Seth closed his eyes, prompting Dean to take the phone from him, “Hey Shortcake!”

“Hi!” she answered. 

“You and Tatum are reading?”

“Yep!”

“What’s Seb doing?”

“He’s playing basketball with Rylan.”

“Cool,” he replied, “What else did you do today?”

“We swam in the hot tub, then we watched “The Wizard of Oz” and now we’re reading and doing big-kid homework.”

“The Wizard of Oz" again?” Dean smirked. 

“Uh huh! Toto I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore!”

“Did you just call me a dog?” Dean joked.

“No!” She giggled.

Dean couldn’t remember exactly when Annabelle’s obsession with “The Wizard of Oz” had started. He was pretty sure that she had watched it with Gemma and Tatum and instantly got hooked. Then Tatum gave her the book, and Gemma got her a coloring book and the soundtrack. The rest was history.

“Good because I’ll call you a flying monkey.” Dean teased.

Annabelle laughed again, “Then I’ll call you a Tin Man!”

Dean glanced at Seth who was smiling again, and then asked Annabelle, “You said that you’re doing big-kid homework?”

“Yes I’m helping Tatum.” She answered.

“Does that make you smart like The Wizard?” 

“No,” she laughed, “No one is as smart as the Wizard! Oh! Tatum wants to sneak me into school in her backpack though.”

Seth laughed while Dean smiled and shook his head, “Oh really?”

“Yup!”

“I highly doubt that, kiddo.”

“I know, we were just being silly. I don’t think I can fit in her backpack anyway.”

“Yeah I’m not sure about that either,” Dean chuckled, “But listen, we were just checking in on you guys ok? We’ll see you a little later. Cool?”

“Okee dokee!” Annabelle answered, completely taking Dean off guard with her next words, “Love you!”

Dean blinked before spitting out, “Love you too!” 

“Ok, bye!” 

“Bye.”

Dean hung up and then looked at Seth, “That was new.” He smiled.

Seth smiled back, “Yeah, that definitely was.”

“Did talking to her help?”

Seth nodded, “Yeah. Thank you.”

“Welcome,” He answered, giving him a small kiss, “I think we should go lay down and relax for a little while. You look exhausted.”

“Thanks.” He answered with a small smirk.

“Anytime.” 

 

***

Dean couldn’t help being very vigilant with Seth after that point. Just the thought of him being lost in his own head, or getting upset in front of Annabelle made his stomach turn. He managed to talk Seth into having a couple more sleepovers that week, leading up to Christmas Eve. Dean had to fib to the kids, and tell them it was JUST because of it being Christmas week. Sebastian and Annabelle didn’t question it what so ever. They loved their sleepovers.

Seth felt a little better each day. Annabelle was his reminder that he did the right thing. He got the toxic people out of their lives for good. Picking football teams with Sebastian and reading bedtime stories with both kids helped with easing his stress. Snuggling securely in Dean’s arms at night helped him even more. Dean would lay awake with him, quietly reassuring him that he did the right thing, and that he’d always be right next to him. 

The night before Christmas Eve, Dean was laying on his back, with Seth snuggled into him. He was tracing light circles on Dean’s stomach when he spoke, “Dean?”

“Hm?” He replied, running his hand through Seth’s hair.

“I need a favor.”

“Anything baby.”

Seth kept the side of his face in Dean’s shoulder as he began, “I, uh, with all of this I just…..I realized that you guys are the only family that Annabelle and I have. If anything ever happens to me, can you please take care of her?”

“Of course,” Dean answered without hesitation, “God yes, of course I will.”

Seth nodded into his chest and sighed, “I never really thought about it until the other day.”

“I understand,” he replied, “Roman, Gemma and I have all of that set up with each other for our kids, incase anything happens. Is that something you want to do? Get it legalized?”

Seth had to think it through for a minute. If he didn’t do it legally and something happened to him, someone from his family could very well take his daughter. They would have authority over Dean or anyone else. That was the last thing he ever wanted, “Yeah. As long as you’re sure you’re ok with it.”

Dean nudged Seth’s head from his chest, “Look at me baby.”

Seth did as Dean asked, receiving a small kiss on his lips from him.

“I’m sure,” Dean said softly, “You know I’ll take care of her.”

Seth gave a slight grin, “Thank you.”

“Anything for you.”

***

The countdown until Christmas was practically going backwards for all of the kids. Although Tatum was excited for Christmas itself, she was relieved for the 10 day vacation from school. Things had calmed down with the school bullies significantly. None of them even looked at her anymore, which she owed Annabelle for big time. 

Rylan couldn’t wait for the break from school either. The only part he was bummed about was not having a basketball game for almost two weeks. He was the captain of his school’s team, and he loved every minute of it. At least there were still a couple practices in between. But as far as Christmas was concerned, he was ready. He hadn’t really asked for much besides a couple of video games that year. Unknown to him however, his parents had his gifts planned out completely.

Sebastian tried to be on his very best behavior. But, being an excitable little boy made it easier said than done. He and Seth were still learning about one football team every night. Sebastian was able to memorize all of the information about each team, including their location. It gave Sebastian confidence in himself, and served as something that he and Seth got to do together.

Annabelle was unknowingly being watched constantly by her Dad and Dean. They were both worried that she would have some type of negative behavior after everything that had happened. To their surprise, it wasn’t with her behavior so much. It was her clinginess to both of them. It was ok though. If that’s the ONLY reaction she was going to have, they could live with that. It made sense to them. She saw them upset that night, and it most likely scared her. The last thing she ever wants to see again is them upset the way they were. If she was staying around them, she could make sure that they were alright.

“They have a doggy?” Annabelle asked Sebastian.

“Two doggies” Sebastian replied with a smile.

He and Annabelle were walking up the sidewalk towards Gemma’s parents house on Christmas Eve. Dean and Seth were behind them, smirking to themselves while they listened to their kids’ conversation. Dean slipped his hand into Seth’s and gave it a small squeeze, “Did I tell you that I like your tie?”

Seth smiled, looking down at Snoopy Christmas tie, “You may have mentioned in.”

“Can’t wait to take it off you later.” He whispered.

Seth giggled, giving Dean a quick kiss on his cheek while they headed up the driveway. Quietly Annabelle said to Sebastian, “I’m nervous.”

Sebastian gave her a reassuring look and then took her hand, “Doggies.”

She smiled back, “Doggies.”

Just like on Thanksgiving, there were family members everywhere gushing over Sebastian and Annabelle. Gemma’s father was overly impressed by Sebastian’s growing knowledge of football teams. He was very proud to tell him that he and Seth had been working on them together. Roman’s mother couldn’t get over Annabelle’s red dress and matching shoes. 

Just before dinner, the chaos of seven other younger kids running around, and an abundance of adults everywhere started to get to Annabelle. She began looking around for her dad, starting to slightly panic when she didn’t see him. Then, she was scooped up from behind and wrapped up in Dean’s arms.

“Hey you,” He said, kissing her forehead, “You ok?”

She shook her head slightly and Dean gave her a reassuring look, “It’s ok. Everything’s fine, just a lot of people right?”

“Uh huh.” She answered, trying not to cry.

Dean walked into the living room and sat down with her on the couch. Gemma’s brother Dennis was the only other person in the room, sitting in the recliner and watching TV. His black lab was laying on the floor at his feet. The dog’s ears perked up and he looked over at Annabelle and Dean, evaluating the situation. 

“Another doggy?” Annabelle sniffled, from Dean’s lap. She had already met Daisy and Pixie, the cocker spaniels. They were both still very young and couldn’t get enough of her or Sebastian.

“Yeah, that’s Duke but you can’t play with him,” Dean explained, “He’s a special kind of dog, he’s for people who don’t feel good sometimes.”

“Ohhhhhhh.” She answered.

The truth was that Dennis was a Veteran, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Duke, his Service Dog, was the best thing that happened to him since he returned home. Aside from getting married to his now wife, of course. 

Duke stood up and headed over to Annabelle. She giggled while he sniffled her and licked her cheek. He put his paw up, and she smiled before giving it a small shake, “How do you do?” 

Dean smirked, “Ok, Dorothy.”

She smiled, letting go of his paw and then getting licked on her cheek again. 

Dean looked to Dennis, “Is he ok over here?”

Dennis nodded, “He doesn’t have his vest on, so he knows he isn’t working right now. Is she upset or anything?”

“A little,” Dean replied, “She gets pretty anxious sometimes.” 

“Duke can tell,” Dennis smiled, “He knows when something’s up.”

“Hear that?” Dean asked Annabelle, kissing the side of her face, “Duke knows you’re nervous. He’s telling you that you don’t have to be.”

She smiled, patting Duke on his head, “Ok Duke. I believe you.”

Dean thought for a minute, while he watched how relaxed Annabelle now was. Dogs were amazing, he knew that. But he also knew that he had to do some math. A single dad, plus a full time job, plus a 6 year old was not the best equation to add a dog into. Not yet anyway. Dean would file that idea away for later on, for both he and Seth. 

“Hey guys, time to eat,” Gemma said, walking into the room, “Dukey-Duke,” she smiled when she saw Duke with Annabelle, “What are you doing over there, silly dog?”

“We’re just hanging out, Aunt Gemma.” Annabelle smiled.

“Ok,” She smiled back, “How about we go hang out and eat?” 

“Sounds perfect,” Dean answered, poking Annabelle’s sides and giving her a kiss on the side of her head, “Right?”

She nodded, turning and hugging Dean around his neck tightly, “I love you.”

Dean smiled, squeezing her back, “Love you too.”

 

***

After dinner, Roman pulled up the “NORAD Santa Tracker” on his phone. All of the kids were amazed to see on the screen how Santa’s journey had been going that night. 

“He’s on his way here!” Sebastian smiled.

Annabelle nodded, looking at the screen in amazement, “We have to go to sleep soon!”

“I think we still have a little while.” Roman smiled.

A little while would be another hour at Gemma’s parents house. Annabelle was sad to leave the doggies, but Dennis promised Annabelle that he would bring Duke over the next day. This answer satisfied her, before she left him a kiss on the top of his head, “Bye Dukey. I hope Santa brings you lots of good doggy presents!” 

***

Gemma and Roman had a tradition on Christmas Eve with their kids and Sebastian. This year it would be shared with Annabelle, which of course, sent her sky high with excitement. Back at Roman’s house, everyone was in the Living Room sitting around the tree. When Gemma walked in with four wrapped boxes, Annabelle’s eyes widened, “Who are they for?”

“For you guys.” Gemma smiled back, passing a box to Tatum, Rylan and Sebastian.

Annabelle was sitting on Seth’s lap, in complete shock when Gemma handed her a box, “Wait! We get to open presents on Christmas Eve?” 

“Yup!” Tatum smiled, although she already knew what was coming.

The kids tore into the boxes, pulling out matching Christmas pajamas. They had white shirts with Santa Claus sitting in a beach chair under a palm tree. The bottoms were light green with a repeat matching pattern.

“Jammies?!” Annabelle squealed, pulling them out of the box.

Sebastian laughed, highly entertained by the concept of Santa laying on a beach. Rylan stared unimpressed, having been done with the tradition somewhere around age nine. Tatum just shook her head and smirked, “Mom I swear you’re the only person who could find something like this.”

Gemma laughed, “Hey! I think I did a good job!”

“You did,” Seth smiled, “They’re awesome.”

Roman pulled out his phone and went back to the tracker, letting out a fake gasp, “Uh oh. Santa’s picking up speed! You better get those jammies on and get to bed.” 

“Oh my gosh!” Sebastian exclaimed climbing up, “Let’s go!”

Annabelle was right behind him while Tatum and Rylan smiled and quietly laughed.

“Hey,” Roman started, “Once upon a time, that was you two.”

“We know Dad,” Rylan answered, “We know.”

***

“Daddy, are you sure Santa didn’t miss us?” Annabelle asked, while Seth and Dean tucked both kids into Sebastian’s bed.

“Nah,” Seth smiled, “He’s smarter than that.”

“He wouldn’t miss us,” Dean smirked, “Are you sure you don’t want a story tonight?”

“We don’t have time,” Sebastian replied, “We have to go to sleep.”

Dean chuckled, “Well. That’s logic.”

 

***

It took quite awhile for the adults to wrap and arrange all of the presents under the tree that night. While Seth was tying a ribbon around one of Annabelle’s, Dean sat down next to him and whispered in his ear, “Wrap faster, I wanna play Santa with you now.”

Seth’s face turned pink and he smiled, “You’re a dirty little elf, you know that?” 

Dean smirked, leaving a small kiss on Seth’s cheek. He then took a minute to absorb everything going on around him. This was normal for Dean, it had been what he knew as Christmas for years. He could remember Tatum and Rylan as kids, running down the steps and screaming when they saw everything. Tomorrow morning it would be Sebastian and Annabelle. 

He glanced to Seth, who was now working on wrapping a present for Rylan. Seth and Annabelle had no idea what was coming. Sure, Seth could visually see it as everything began to stack up. But he knew that he’d never seen Annabelle have a true Christmas morning. Annabelle didn’t really remember any of her past Christmases. Seth said it was probably because they weren’t worth remembering. Just the two of them by themselves, and however many gifts Seth could afford that year. Dean couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning.

They had decided between the two of them that they wouldn’t exchange gifts. They’d rather spend it on the kids instead. Besides, both of them preferred the idea of unwrapping each other that night instead. 

After the last present was wrapped, Dean and Seth both let out sighs of relief. Finally up in Dean’s room, both of them fell back onto the bed, half laughing and tickling and poking at each other. Dean crawled over Seth, nuzzling his nose in the side of Seth’s neck, getting a small giggle from him. 

“How long have we been together?” Dean asked against his cheek.

“Forever or something.” He smirked.

Dean smiled, loving Seth’s response, “Or something?”

“I mean,” Seth replied, turning to look at him, “Feels like it.”

He nodded, “Yeah, it definitely does.”

“I love it.” He smiled.

“Me too,” he answered, running his hand over Seth’s hair, “Baby…is there a bow in your hair?” 

Seth giggled, “You said that you wanted to play Santa. That makes me the present.”

Dean laughed, “Yes…yes you are.”

“You going to unwrap me?” 

“Yes I fucking am.” he replied, sitting up and guiding Seth up with him. He straddled Seth’s waist, wrapping his arms around him securely and gently connecting their lips. Sweet soft pecks, little nips and small pauses just to breathe each other in. 

“Love you,” Dean murmured against his lips, holding the side of Seth’s face, “Love you so fucking much.”

“….’ve you too….” he managed to get out, while Dean took him away from the world.

Both of their shirts were quickly discarded, and Seth found himself on his back while Dean’s lips traced his upper body. Dean licked a slow line from his waistband to one of his nipples, swirling his tongue around and gently nipping at it. Seth squirmed and whimpered, arching up to get friction against the tent formed under his pajama pants. Dean paid no attention, continuing to leave light bites, and run his tongue over the ripples of Seth’s abs. 

“De-” Seth murmured, his skin becoming flush and his breathing more rapid.

Seth’s fingers raked through Dean’s hair, while he continued to suck mark after mark on Seth’s chest. His lips trailed up to the side of Seth’s neck and then to his lips, running his tongue over them, and giving his bottom lip a light nip. Seth moaned in approval, needing more of every ounce of Dean he could get.

Dean managed to rid them both of their bottom layers before leaning back over Seth, “Know how I love your teacher clothes?” He breathed into Seth’s ear.

Seth moaned lowly, “Mmmm hmmm.”

“I really love your ties,” Dean whispered in his ear, “I really want to play with one.”

He swallowed and looked at Dean, “So do it.”

Dean smirked, grabbing Seth’s tie from under the pillow where he had secretly stashed it. He quickly looped it through the headboard slots, then pulled up Seth’s wrists and tied them there securely. 

“Shit you were serious.” Seth breathed.

“That ok?” Dean asked, arching his eyebrows.

Seth closed his eyes, “Fuckkkk yes.”

Dean smiled, sliding down Seth’s body with his tongue, giving just a small lick to the tip of his cock. Seth shuttered, and arched up looking for any kind of attention that he could get. Dean smirked, then started sucking small marks and giving little bites to the inside of his thighs. They became harder and deeper, Seth moaning and whining more after each one. 

“De….Dean….” Seth choked.

“Hmmm?” He asked, before running his tongue through every crease he could get to. 

“Oh SHIT!” he gasped. 

Dean licked a line from the base of Seth’s cock up to it’s leaking head, swirling his tongue over top. 

Seth’s entire body shuddered, Dean continuing to lightly suck on the tip of his cock. Seth had no idea when Dean had grabbed the lube but it was a minor detail at that point. Dean’s mouth came off with a pop, as he paused to readjust Seth’s legs. Then back to work he went, giving light sucks and licks to his cock and working his fingers in. 

Seth wanted to grab the back of Dean’s head and smash his mouth as deep on his dick as he could. But he was restrained, and that made everything so much hotter, “De-I--ooooohhhhhh.” he stopped when Dean hit his spot, making his eyes roll back and his hips thrust up.

Dean took two giant mouthfuls of him, then stopped with a chuckle, “Someone liked that.”

Dean loved when Seth was like this. Halfway out of his head, and moaning and begging for every piece of Dean he could get. Immediately. He crawled over Seth, grinding his cock down on Seth’s and connecting their lips in a rough kiss. 

Seth was desperate, gasping for breath in between kisses and unable to make full sentences. Dean smirked, sitting back and coating his throbbing dick with lube. Seth was still gasping and pleading when Dean adjusted his legs and then slid inside of him.

“FUCK!” Seth cried out.

On any other occasion, Dean would be concerned about how loud he was being. But, his room was furthest down the hallway, and the TV was on. Hopefully that was enough.

As much as Dean wanted to keep Seth tied up, he REALLY needed his hands all over him. It was exactly what he got when Dean unfastened the tie. Streaks of red lined Dean’s back and sides, while Seth repeatedly cried out Dean’s name and gripped him tightly. 

Dean pulled out much to Seth’s confusion, until Seth found himself on his stomach with Dean plunging back into him from behind. 

“Dean! Oh God, Dean YES!” Seth screamed into the pillow.

Dean slid his hands onto Seth’s hands that were flat above his head, squeezing hard and then thrusting just as hard into him. If Seth could have, he would have screamed louder but his voice was completely wrecked. When Dean bit down on the back of his shoulder, he completely saw stars turning his head out and rasping, “GOD BABY!”

“Shhhhh,” Dean hissed, although he knew that no one could hear them. He licked over the bite mark he left, then moving them to their sides. 

Seth’s entire body was a heaving, gasping mess, exactly how Dean wanted him. He spooned Seth from behind, adjusting his leg and then slamming right back into his heat. Seth’s head rocked back, giving Dean perfect access to his neck.

“Mmm, baby,” Dean said, kissing from his neck to his ear, “So good for me…..”

Seth was a whimpering mess while Dean ran his hand over Seth’s chest and stomach. He tilted Seth’s face up and locked their lips in a deep messy kiss, while tracing his finger over Seth’s begging cock. He nearly spit out the kiss, moaning desperately into Dean’s mouth.

Dean smiled against his lips, snapping his hips fiercely a few more times before wrapping his hand around his dick. It all went white from there for Seth, his body jolting when Dean started to stroke him. Dean pounded into him relentlessly while he sobbed and thrashed through his orgasm. 

“So hot…” Dean moaned into Seth’s ear, “Oh God baby…..that was…..fuck I’m….FUCK-FUCK-FUCK!” he moaned, squeezing onto Seth as he came inside of him. 

“Oh God….” Dean whimpered, feeling Seth gripping his arms that were securely around him, “Seth….fuck….”

Seth nodded, his eyes still closed and his body still jittering, “Remember….” he squeaked, “When you swore you were TERRIBLE at this?!”

Dean smiled, still catching his breath, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

***

 

“Tatum! Tatum wake up!”

Annabelle was perched on Tatum’s back, while Sebastian sat next to her, poking at her nose, “Tatum wake up! It’s Christmas!”

Tatum mumbled, “I’m up. Go wake up Rylan.”

“Ok!” Sebastian exclaimed, jumping from the bed and running out of the room.

“Annabelle, you have to get off me baby, I can’t move.” Tatum yawned.

“Oh.” Annabelle giggled, sliding off of Tatum’s back.

She sat up and smiled at her, “You ready to see what Santa brought?”

“YES!”

The stampede that was heard from the floor above them let the adults know that all of the kids had woken up. Seth and Dean were sitting on the sectional couch in front of the tree, while Roman sat on the floor and Gemma on the arm chair. 

“Hurry! Hurry!” Sebastian’s voice boomed, as they ran down the stairs.

When the four of them made it to the living room, they all stopped and stared in amazement. Presents were stacked up, trimmed with bows and ribbons specific for each one of them. 

“HOLY MOLY!” Sebastian cried out.

“Merry Christmas!” Roman chuckled.

“Merry Christmas, guys.” Dean smiled.

“Merry Christmas!” Tatum replied, while the other three still stood in shock.

“You guys wanna open something?” Gemma laughed.

“YES!” They all answered, snapping from their gaze and swarming the tree.

“Ok, ok, hold on!” Roman started, “Everyone has their own wrapping paper ok? Tatum, yours is the purple with the swirls, Rylan, yours is blue with snowflakes ok?” He then turned to Sebastian and Annabelle, “Seb, yours has Spiderman, and Annabelle’s has unicorns.”

Annabelle’s eyes widened when she looked at the mountain of boxes wrapped with unicorn paper, “Those are all for me?!” she gasped.

“Yeah,” Uncle Roman smiled, “You must have been REALLY good!”

Annabelle turned to Seth, her face telling him everything. She was again, very overwhelmed. He smiled at her and climbed down on the floor, pulling her into his lap, “Merry Christmas.” he said, giving her a couple of kisses on her forehead.

“Merry Christmas,” She smiled back.

“You wanna get crackin’ on these presents or what?”

She nodded, turning around in his lap as everyone started ripping into their gifts. One at a time, Seth helped Annabelle with hers and hoping that he’d never lose the feeling he had at that second. Her first present was a unicorn onesie, to which she of course squealed out in happiness over.

“IPAD!” Tatum shrieked, staring at the box in her hand and almost in tears, “THANK YOU SANTA!”

“What’s next?!” Annabelle asked, crawling away from Seth and grabbing another box. 

Seth smirked, “A lot.”

“SPIDERMAN GLOVES!” Sebastian exclaimed, holding up the box for everyone to see, “It shoots webs too!”

“That one may have been an impulse buy.” Dean said, only loud enough for Seth to hear.

“Yeah Santa might not have thought that one through.”

“A Unicorn baby doll!” Annabelle cried out, after she opened her next present.

“It’s Cabbage Patch Kids,” Gemma explained, “They’ve been around since I was your age.”

“Woooaaaah.” Annabelle replied, staring at the doll in amazement.

“She’s dressed like a unicorn,” Seth smiled, “Isn’t that cute?”

She nodded, “Yes! So cute!”

“SUPER SMASH BROS ULTIMATE!” Rylan yelled, waving around the freshly unwrapped video game, “YESSS!!”

“I wanna play!” Sebastian replied.

“Because you’re not getting enough new stuff?” Dean asked.

Sebastian shrugged, tearing away at the next box. He immediately started laughing when he discovered it’s contents, “Don’t Step in It!”

“The poop game?!” Annabelle asked.

“Yup!” 

Roman burst out laughing, “I can’t wait to play that one.”

Tatum nodded in agreement while she opened up two new pairs of distressed jeans, smiling brightly and admiring them.

“Under Armour!” Rylan exclaimed, pulling a bright green and blue hoodie out of it’s box.

“Wow, that’ll hurt your eyes.” Dean chuckled.

“This way we don’t lose him.” Gemma joked.

“A DOROTHY DOLL!” Annabelle cried out, amazed at the Barbie doll sized figure from “The Wizard of Oz”. 

Eventually, the mountain of presents dwindled to a couple of hills and finally down to the very last ones. Tatum screamed in happiness about her new purse and Rylan added a new pair of Under Armour shoes to his collection. Sebastian and Annabelle found that there was a small box with both of their names on it. Together, they ripped off the paper it up to have glitter fly everywhere when they took the lid off. Inside was a framed picture of Seth, Dean and the kids with a small note that read, "This is what happiness looks like. Love, Santa."

"No way." Sebastian breathed.

"Santa really did it." Annabelle whispered.

"Yup."

"Two left, you guys." Roman smiled.

Quickly, they put the frame back in the box and turned their attention back to Roman. Their last two presents were from their dads. They were both awkwardly shaped and rather big, wrapped up and had big bows on them.

Sebastian and Annabelle both tore into them, squealing out in excitement as their new bikes were unwrapped. Annabelle’s was pink and purple with sparkles and unicorns. Sebastian’s was Batman themed, and both of them had matching bike helmets.

“Oh my gosh!” Annabelle cried out, sitting on the bike and pretending to ride it.

“Wait! They have training wheels on them!” Sebastian pointed out.

Dean laughed, “How else were we supposed to wrap them, and get them to stay standing up?”

“Ohhhh,” Sebastian smiled, “When can we take them off?”

“Later.” Roman answered him. 

“Hey Shortcake,” Dean smiled, “Look in that little pouch that’s on the front of the handlebars.”

“Ok!” she answered, unzipping the pouch and reaching inside. When her hand came out, it was holding a new cell phone.

“I get a….I….a phone?!” She asked, in shock.

“Like the one that Seb has,” Seth explained, “Incase you need to call someone and it’s important. Not just for fun.”

“That’s what our phones are for.” Dean said sarcastically.

“Wow.” Was the only thing that Annabelle could get out, climbing from the bike and back into Seth’s lap.

“You like it?” Seth asked, running his hand over her hair, “They didn’t have pink.”

Annabelle giggled a little and nodded, “Thank you Daddy.”

“You’re welcome baby.” He answered, kissing the top of her head.

Roman was the first one to mention breakfast, with Sebastian volunteering to help him make it.

“Uh,” Rylan smirked, knowing that would require extra assistance, “I’ll help too.”

Roman mouthed, “Thank you” to his son, then headed for the kitchen.

Annabelle was in a trans, staring at all of her new toys and clothes. Wonder Woman DVDs, “The Wizard of Oz” collectors edition DVD, a unicorn pillow, a tablet, a stuffed unicorn that farted, Wonder Woman t-shirts, at least a dozen new books, “Wizard of Oz” figures, and so much more. All of that was hers. She was SO good that year, that Santa brought her more than she ever thought that she deserved. Sitting on the floor right in front of her was her new cell phone from her Daddy. All of it became to much, and tears started to trickle down her face.

“Annabelle?” Seth asked, when he heard her sniffle, “Baby you ok?”

Instead of answering, she turned in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, tears now falling freely as she cried.

“Baby what’s wrong?” Seth asked, alarmed while he held on to her.

“Shortcake,” Dean started, sitting on the floor with them, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

She sniffled hard and pulled away to look at her Daddy, “I’m just so happy. I don’t know I just feel like crying.”

“Because you’re happy though, right?” Dean asked, “Not sad?”

“Just happy.” She said, while tears continued to spill.

Seth let out a sigh of relief, kissing her forehead and then pulling her into his securely. Dean ran his hand over her hair, “It’s ok to cry when you’re happy.”

“This is the best Christmas in the whole wide world, Daddy.” 

Seth smiled, looking to Dean, “Yeah, it definitely is.” 

***

The Christmas present buzz had dwindled by the time Roman’s house began to fill up with family. It was mostly the same people from Christmas Eve, which kept Annabelle’s nerves non existent. Duke the dog also helped, following her around whenever Dennis gave him permission. 

The night flew by, but before everyone left there was another present exchange for their family. Annabelle sat on the floor with Dean and Sebastian, wide eyed in excitement for them. As Roman and Gemma’s mothers began passing out presents, Annabelle was surprised when three medium sized presents were handed to her.

“For me?” She asked, looking at them in confusion.

“Yes sweetie,” Gemma’s mother smiled, “We heard you were a REALLY good girl this year.”

Annabelle’s jaw dropped and she looked to the couch where Seth was sitting. He was in just as much shock as she was, climbing down to the floor to see what she had, “Holy moly,” He whispered in her ear, “What did you get?”

She stared at the three presents wrapped in paper with snowmen and snowflakes, “I don’t know.”

“You going to open them, silly?” he asked, kissing her cheek.

She looked up to see that everyone else had started tearing into theirs. Sebastian was bouncing off the walls while he opened his new toys. Annabelle giggled and then ripped away at the paper. She gasped loudly when she discovered it was a “Wizard of Oz” snow globe. The scene inside the globe was the characters skipping to Emerald City down the yellow brick road. Seth helped her open the box and removed the padded foam. Annabelle’s eyes were even wider now, looking at the details while Seth shook it up.

“Wow,” Seth smiled, as the fake snow floated, “That’s so cool.”

“Daddy look, it winds up.” She said, pointing at the small crank on the side.

Seth wound it up, and it began to play “We're Off To See The Wizard”.

“OH MY GOSH!” Annabelle squealed, looking up at Roman and Gemma’s mothers, “THANK YOU!”

They both smiled back, “You’re welcome!”

“I have to hear that song more now?” Dean asked, looking over at them while Sebastian marveled over the new Spiderman hoodie he got.

He turned to Annabelle, “Are you done opening your presents?”

“Seb, we’re still on number one.” Seth smiled.

His jaw dropped and he climbed halfway over Dean to investigate Annabelle’s situation, “What are you doing?”

“I just like it,” She replied, turning to him while still holding the snow globe, “It’s really pretty.”

Sebastian smiled, “We have ALL night to look at it, remember?”

“Come on Annabelle, you don’t know how impatient this kid is yet?” Dean asked her.

Carefully, she sat the snow globe on the floor, and went for the next present. She giggled wildly when she opened a pink fluffy unicorn bathrobe. The hood had eyes, ears and a horn on it making Annabelle and Sebastian both laugh out loud.

Dean reached over and examined it, then looked at Seth, “I think I’ll get you a matching one.”

“Funny.” He replied back flatly.

“Last one!” Sebastian smiled, as Annabelle ripped away at the paper.

Inside was a book called, “Make Your Own Unicorn Food”. It had recipes for every colorful way to make any cupcake, cake or fun food known to man.

“Oh jeeze.” Seth said, watching as Annabelle flipped through it excitedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this one, Seth.” Gemma smiled.

He let out a sigh of relief, then nudged the kids to get up and go thank Roman’s and Gemma’s parents for their gifts.

“They didn’t have to get her anything.” Seth said quietly to Dean.

Dean smiled, giving him a small kiss on the cheek, “You’re family now, remember?”

A couple tears formed as he smiled, “Hasn’t sunk in.”

“It will,” he replied, giving him a quick peck, “Merry Christmas.”

He smiled back, “Merry Christmas.”

 

***

The house had cleared out of relatives sometime before nine that night. Seth had asked Gemma and Roman about 10 times if he could help them clean up. He got banished to the living room with Dean instead. Both of them were sitting on the couch, Seth resting his head against Dean’s shoulder, “This was the best Christmas ever, you know that?”

Dean smirked, “Yeah. It was pretty great.”

“Hi!” Sebastian smiled, as he and Annabelle walked into the room.

They both climbed onto Seth and Dean’s laps, snuggling into them tightly.

“What are you guys doing?” Dean asked, running his hand down Sebastian’s back.

“Nothing.” He answered.

“Daddy?” Annabelle asked sitting up to look at him, “What’s the best present you ever got?”

“Hmmmm,” Seth replied, before smirking at her, “You.”

“Me?” she giggled, “No Daddy, a real present!”

“You are one, silly.” He smiled back.

“Really?” she asked.

He hugged onto her tightly and kissed the side of her head, “Yeah, really. My favorite, best present that I ever got in my entire life. Know what else?”

She giggled again, “What?”

“Then, you gave me my second favorite present ever.”

“I did?”

“Uh-huh,” he smirked, “They’re sitting next to us.

She smiled and turned to look at Dean and Sebastian, “Yeah, I think they’re good presents too.”

“Just good?” Dean teased.

“Maybe great.” She giggled.

“Finally!” Tatum said, walking into the room with Rylan, both of them flopping onto the couch.

“Ah ha,” Dean teased, “Dish duty?”

Tatum rolled her eyes, “Of course.”

“Ok stop complaining,” Roman teased, walking in and sitting down in front of the tree, “Last round.”

“Wait,” Annabelle started, “There’s MORE?”

“We have to give everyone their presents from us, remember?” Seth quietly asked Annabelle.

“Oh yeah!” She replied.

“Alright, you guys ready?” Gemma asked, coming in and sitting down on the floor with Roman.

“YES!” Sebastian and Annabelle exclaimed.

Rylan was easily satisfied getting gift cards from his favorite stores. Dean and Seth were thankful that he was so easy to shop for. Tatum’s jaw dropped when she opened a pair of jeans and a certain red and black shirt that she had been eying up at Old Navy.

“Annabelle!” she exclaimed, looking to her, “You remembered?!”

She nodded, “Yup! We got you a jacket-thingie to wear over it so Uncle Roman doesn’t get mad.”

“Excuse me?” Roman asked, raising his eyebrows.

“It’s safe,” Seth smiled, “Don’t worry.” 

When it was Annabelle and Sebastian’s turn, Gemma and Roman handed them two identically sized boxes, each with different wrapping paper. They looked at each other suspiciously before tearing into them. Neither of them could speak right away, as they absorbed what was inside each of their boxes. A soccer ball, cleats, sandals, shin guards, high socks, soccer shorts, pants and athletic shirts in their favorite colors sat in front of them. It took them both a second to completely understand what was going on.

Sebastian looked up to Roman, “We…we get to play soccer?!”

“Yup.” Roman smiled.

“Like Tatum?!” Annabelle exclaimed.

“Yes.” Tatum laughed.

“When?!” Sebastian asked.

“Next month.” Dean replied.

The scream of excitement that came from the kids could have blown out one of the windows. Calming them down was completely out of the question at that point. The rest of the gift exchanging was done while they continually looked through their new stuff downright amazed. 

Gemma had to interrupt Annabelle while Seth was opening his presents. There was one left and she wanted Annabelle to open it with him. Happily, she jumped onto Seth’s lap and helped him open it up. Both of them smiled when they saw that Gemma and Tatum had made them a scrapbook. The bright blue cover had a picture of Seth and Annabelle on it from Thanksgiving, smiling happily. Under it simply read, “You Are Loved”. The very first page was a picture of Seth’s house. It had a copy of the online listing from when it was sold to him, and the address written underneath. 

Seth had a huge smile on his face as he turned to the next page. There were pictures of Seth’s school and Annabelle’s school. Next to them was a selfie that Seth took of them on their very first days.

Seth looked to Dean, “Going through my phone?”

Dean shrugged, “It happens.”

Seth smiled, then flipped through the pages with Annabelle. He had no idea that Gemma, Roman or Dean had taken SO many pictures of them. Pictures from Halloween, the kids at the fair, Annabelle at the beach, Thanksgiving, meeting Santa, random pictures of them playing, and at dinner. 

“So the rest is up to you now,” Gemma smirked, “You gotta make sure that you and your Daddy keep adding to it, ok?”

Annabelle nodded excitedly, “Ok!”

Dean leaned over and looked with Seth as he turned through the pages again. He gave Seth a small kiss on his cheek, “Best Christmas ever?”

Seth turned to him and smiled, “Best Christmas ever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you guys think!!! :)


	18. The North Star and a New Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What are you guys doing?” He smiled, before he and Dean scooped them into their arms.
> 
> “We have to make noise,” Sebastian explained while Seth held him, “We get to run outside and hit the pots!”
> 
> Annabelle nodded, “Yeah that’s what we’re supposed to do!”
> 
> Dean and Seth chuckled, Dean leaving a kiss on the side of Annabelle’s head, “You’re ready to go huh?”
> 
> “Uh-huh yep!” She smiled, “I’ve never done this before!”

Once the Christmas hype had dwindled down, New Years Eve quickly arrived. The concept of another year approaching was almost baffling for Dean. His restaurant would be closing early that night for the holiday, much to Rocco and his staff’s delight. The night would be spent at Roman and Gemma’s, for their annual New Years Eve party. Dean couldn’t help smiling, just at the thought. 

When Seth told Dean that it felt like they had been together ‘forever’, he really was being serious. It truly felt like they had always known each other and had always been in love. That their kids made them a family that neither of them knew they’d end up having. It was a lot for Dean to take in. Until Roman whacked him with a menu.

“Whatever you’re over analyzing, stop right now,” He said, sitting down at the counter next to Dean, “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Dean glared, “It wasn’t anything BAD. Jeeze.”

Roman arched his eyebrow, “Seth or Seb?”

“Seth, but it’s nothing bad,” Dean replied, “Just, thinking that’s all.”

Roman still wasn’t convinced while he opened his laptop, “So what’s good then?”

He sighed, “It’s just kind of crazy to think about. How both of us blinked and all of a sudden we have this life? There’s people who have been together for years that don’t even have it.”

“So what?” Roman asked, scrolling through a spreadsheet, “You and Seth aren’t them. Remember what Rocco said about the old Italian couple from his old neighborhood? It happens Dean. We just get so used to hearing about the BAD relationships, that it’s almost a foreign concept to hear the opposite. You guys have something great going on. Keep cruising with it, and stop wondering why. Ok?”

Once again, Roman struck knowledge and reassurance into Dean’s head that he truly needed. Sighing, he gave Roman a small smirk, “Got it.”

“You sound just like Seb.” He chuckled.

Dean rolled his eyes, “Yeah yeah.”

“Him and Annabelle ready for tonight?” Roman asked.

“Oh God,” Dean groaned jokingly, “Annabelle’s never been to a New Years Eve Party before. Seb won’t shut up about it. So he’s gassing her up, which is putting her off the walls and then making him even MORE excited.”

Roman burst out laughing, “And Seth?”

“Seth’s excited.”

“More excited for when the kids are asleep though right?” he grinned.

Dean glared, “And?”

“Good morning!” Rocco called, as he walked in.

“Morning!” They both called back.

Dean glared at Roman again, “Saved by the Italian.”

***

Just like the Halloween party at Roman’s house, the kids had their own little party upstairs while the adults stayed downstairs. Duke the dog made another appearance, much to Annabelle’s delight. He spent most of his time downstairs with Dennis however. Annabelle of course understood, and stuck with Sebastian for most of the night 

“So, we dressed up a little, and ate a lot of food and watched movies and now we get to stay up late?” She asked him.

He nodded, “Yup.”

They were both alone sitting on the couch in the sun room, looking outside through the large bay window. 

“Then at midnight we all yell, right?” Annabelle asked. 

“Yeah,” he answered, “And we have to give people hugs, but then we get to go outside and bang on pots and pans and watch the neighbors shoot fireworks.”

“Wow.” She smiled.

“It’s fun.” He replied, before making a strange face.

“Are you ok Sebby?” She asked.

He nodded, opening his mouth and poking at his teeth.

“Is your tooth still loose?” She asked, trying to get a look at his loose bottom tooth.”

“Uh huh,” he replied, “Won’t come out.”

“It’s not ready to yet, silly.” 

“Just feels funny.”

“I haven’t lost any teeth yet.” 

His eyes widened, “Really? Not one?”

She shook her head, “Uh-uh, not one.”

“Wow. Your teeth like it in there. This is my second one.”

She shrugged, “They’ll come out when they get bored in there.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” he answered, before looking back out the front windows, “AB, the stars are really cool. I really like them.”

Annabelle looked up to see what he was staring at, “Uh huh,” she agreed, “The moon is pretty.”

“Did you know that stars are a sign for people to find their way?”

“What’s that mean?” She asked.

“Because people always followed the North Star when they were lost. So stars are a sign to make people happy and feel better when they’re trying to find their way somewhere.”

Her eyes widened, “Wowwww. How do you know that?”

“Your Daddy told me,” he replied proudly, “He was teaching me about the Dallas Cowboys. They have a star on their helmet. It’s for the state of Texas. But then we started talking about stars, and he told me about that.”

Annabelle smiled, “That’s really cool.”

He nodded, “I think that you and your Daddy had a star, and it brought you here.”

“You really think so?” She grinned.

“Yeah,” he answered, “I do.”

“I think I really like stars too. We should get the glow ones like Rylan has and put them in our bedroom.”

His eyes widened, “Yeah, we should.” 

“What are you two doing in here?” Tatum teased, walking into the room, “All of the other kids are in the Living Room watching TV. You guys being Outsiders?”

Annabelle giggled at the reference, “No, we’re just talking.”

“Oh yeah?” She asked, sitting on the couch across from them, “About what?”

Sebastian said something quietly to Annabelle that Tatum couldn’t decipher. Annabelle answered him just as strangely, prompting Tatum to ask, “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Sebastian lied, “She’s never done anything for New Years before, so I was telling her about it.”

Tatum raised her eyebrow, “Right.”

“Hey guys,” Seth smiled, walking into the room with Dean, “What are you guys up to?”

Both of them held opened beer bottles in their hands, making Tatum giggle, “Uh oh.”

Dean looked at her, “It’s number three, ok?”

“Yeah whatever.” She teased, knowing it was more like five. Then she heard the strange conversation from Annabelle and Sebastian again. She looked at them confused, just before Annabelle answered Dean, “We’re just waiting for midnight.”

“How much longer?” Sebastian asked.

He giggled when Seth scooped him up off the couch and answered, “An hour ok? You should go watch the countdown on TV with everyone else.”

“That’s what I said.” Tatum smirked.

“Ok let’s go.” Annabelle smiled back.

Sebastian hung on around Seth’s neck for an extra second, “Love you.” He said only loud enough for Seth to hear.

Seth smirked, “Love you too.”

“C’mon we’re going to miss stuff.” Annabelle said, although she really had no idea what the countdown show even entailed.

Sebastian wiggled out of Seth’s embrace and took off out of the room with Annabelle. 

Tatum looked to Dean and Seth, “I think….I think they have their own language or something.”

Seth’s head turned straight to Dean, “I told you I wasn’t crazy, and I wasn’t hearing things!”

“Wait, what?” Dean laughed.

“They talk their own little gibberish language, Uncle Dean,” She started, “I swear, they did it in front of me twice just now.”

“He thought I was hearing things,” Seth said to Tatum, “He told me that I was going crazy. But the entire time they really have been talking to each other weird?”

She nodded, “Yeah. That’s so strange.”

Dean blinked a few times while he absorbed everything, “So what do we tell them? No talking Sebastibelle-ish anymore?”

“That’s what we’re calling it?” Seth laughed.

“You got a better idea?” Dean asked.

She shrugged, “I don’t know. Oh, did you know that they have nicknames for each other too? I found that out yesterday.”

“Yeah, we heard about it,” Seth chuckled, “It’s cute.”

“But they’re the only ones allowed to use them,” Dean said, “Or you’ll get yelled at.”

Tatum smirked, “Those two are funny. They’re in their own little world and if you try to barge in, you’re getting send out on your ass.” 

“They have imaginations, I’ll say that,” Dean replied, “Huge imaginations.”

“That’s a good thing though, you don’t want them to be robots.”

“True, very true. I think their little nicknames are so cute though. We have to figure out a way to be able to use them.” Seth said.

“We could always just ask nicely.” Tatum grinned.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Dean chuckled, “When I’m entirely sober.” 

“Whatever,” Tatum smiled, then motioned to his beer, “What’cha got?”

“Mmmm,” Dean replied, examining the bottle, “Angry Orchard.”

He tilted it towards her, and she took it, looking at the bottle, “Do I need to know where your mouth has been?”

Seth laughed while Dean shook his head slightly, “Do you want your sip or not?”

Tatum smiled, taking a tiny swig out of the bottle, “Mmm,” she said, “Not bad.”

“Feeding your niece alcohol. Nice.” Seth said, arching his eyebrow.

“She’s allowed a sip on New Years Eve ONLY.” Dean smirked to him, as she handed him the bottle back.

“Thanks,” She said, “Now you can do whatever you want with your mouth.”

Seth burst out laughing while Dean smirked and shook his head, “Tell me again why it’s ok for me to talk and joke with a teenager about adult type things.” 

“It’s either you, or she talks and jokes with her teenage friends about ADULT type things,” Seth answered, “Which would you prefer?”

“Hmmm,” He replied, “Good point.”

Tatum smirked and rolled her eyes, “Go back downstairs and enjoy your party, ok?”

Seth and Dean did just that, finding themselves on one of the couches in the very back of Roman’s party room. It was secluded JUST enough for them to enjoy themselves almost alone. The lights were dim, everyone donning light-up and glow in the dark accessories for the occasion. Music was blasting, some people were in the hot tub, others playing cards. Seth and Dean liked their new view, able to see everything that was going on for the most part, including Roman downing shots with Rocco.

Dean wrapped his arm around Seth, “Remember that couch?” he asked, motioning to a smaller black couch on the other side of the room.

Seth smiled, “Yeah.”

He leaned over and gave him a small kiss, “Did that count as our first date?”

“Yeah, I think it did.” He grinned, thinking back to the hours that they were together on it during Roman’s Halloween party. 

“You did a good job seducing me that night.” Dean joked.

“Oh? I seduced you? Last time I checked, YOU invited me into YOUR room.” Seth smiled.

“Minor detail.”

“Oh, ok,” He mocked, playfully poking at him, “Got it.”

Dean grabbed his hands and pulled him in closer, “Do you remember what we talked about that night?”

Seth thought back for a second, “A whole lot. If not down here, we did upstairs.”

He nodded, giving him a small kiss then continuing with his thought, “Tonight’s actually two months exactly since that night.”

Seth smiled, “Still feels like forever.”

“Yeah,” Dean smiled back, “You were right. You said not to worry about how fast it was happening, and that it didn’t matter.”

“Because it didn’t, still doesn’t,” Seth answered, giving him a smirk, “It’s no one’s life but ours.”

Dean gave him another kiss, smiling against his lips in between. The song changed to a slower one, and although they were a little secluded they could still hear it.

“That’s something we talked about,” Seth teased, “You dancing.”

“How I don’t dance?” Dean asked, “Ever?”

“C’mon,” Seth encouraged, giving him a small peck, “Just this one?”

Dean glared, unsure if it was the alcohol that was helping him with the decision or if he was actually being brave, “Ok fine.”

Although Roman was all the way across the room, he knew what he saw, “Babe, you have to see this.”

“See what?” Gemma asked, letting go of him and looking to where he was now motioning to.

Her jaw fell wide when she saw Seth and Dean slow dancing at the back of the room, “Am I that drunk?”

“If you are, so am I.” Roman replied.

Dean gave Seth a long kiss on his cheek, while he enjoyed this forgotten experience. He was pretty sure he hadn’t slow danced with anyone since high school sometime. Seth was making everything about it completely perfect.

“Not so terrible, hm?” Seth asked, resting his forehead against Dean’s.

“Nah,” Dean smiled, “It’s ok.”

“Just ok?” he teased.

Dean grinned, closing his eyes and letting his body float away. This wasn’t how he ever remembered slowing dancing with anyone before. Seth held him close, making sure he actually moved a little bit while they swayed to the music.

“…I’m forever yours,” Seth murmured the lyrics next to Dean’s ear, “Faithfully….”

He smiled, squeezing on to Seth a little tighter. Journey wasn’t one of his favorite bands, but at that moment he was thankful that they existed.

“LET’S GO!” A voice interrupted, after the music suddenly stopped, “It’s almost midnight!” Roman announced.

Dean and Seth smiled at each other, “Can we do that again sometime?” Dean asked.

“Absolutely.”

***

Everyone headed upstairs into the living room and piled around the big screen TV. When Seth saw Annabelle and Sebastian holding two pots and wooden spoons, he arched his eyebrow, “What are you guys doing?” He smiled, before he and Dean scooped them into their arms.

“We have to make noise,” Sebastian explained while Seth held him, “We get to run outside and hit the pots!”

Annabelle nodded, “Yeah that’s what we’re supposed to do!”

Dean and Seth chuckled, Dean leaving a kiss on the side of Annabelle’s head, “You’re ready to go huh?”

“Uh-huh yep!” She smiled, “I’ve never done this before!”

Annabelle soon found out how much fun New Years Eve could be. The ball dropping in New York City was mesmerizing to her, then the house practically shook from everyone screaming and celebrating. Both kids giggled when their dads gave each other a New Years kiss, before they got down and scrambled to the backyard.

Just as Sebastian had told Annabelle, Roman’s neighbors started shooting off fireworks. In the meantime they were banging on their pots and pans with Tatum, Rylan and some of the other kids. They giggled and ran around, while the sky filled up with bright colors.

Dean and Seth sat on the garden swing, watching their kids and giggling between themselves. 

“You know, last year they scared her.” Seth said, motioning up to the sky.

“Really?” Dean asked, “Where did you go see them?”

“That’s the thing, we didn’t,” Seth replied with a hint of sadness in his voice, “Both of us were asleep before midnight. Once the fireworks started going off, they woke her up and scared the shit out of her.”

“Awe,” Dean frowned, “Poor Shortcake.”

He nodded, “She slept in my room after they woke her up. I felt so bad for her, they woke her up out of a dead sleep.”

Dean motioned out into the yard where the kids were all watching the sky with amazement, “Not this year.”

Seth smiled, giving Dean a small kiss, “I have you to thank for that.”

“Stop,” Dean smirked, “Did you guys do anything on New Years Day?”

“It snowed like hell. We went sledding for most of the day, that was pretty fun.”

Dean grinned, “You both probably look so cute in little snow suits.”

He chuckled, pulling out his phone and scrolling until he found the pictures he was looking for. He handed it to Dean, whose eyes widened and then almost filled with tears. Annabelle in pink snow pants with silver hearts and a matching jacket and boots was the cutest thing he may have ever seen. Her pink mittens matched her hat, that had a unicorn face on it and pom-poms on top. Seth was of course basic black snow apparel, just as Seth would be. 

“Next year we’re going on a mini vacation,” Dean grinned, “To somewhere with snow.” 

Seth smiled, “Seriously? You’d want to do that?”

“Uh, yeah,” He smiled back, “It sounds awesome. Besides, I know you’d want to.”

“Yeah,” he answered, still smiling, “Yeah I would. We both would”

***

 

Dean’s eyes began to flutter just as the sun was coming up the next morning. He blinked a couple of times, then smirked when he felt that Seth had him wrapped up from behind. They were both buried in the blankets, Seth dreaming away while holding Dean securely. 

When Dean tried to move, he ended up letting out a groan of discomfort, “Fuck…” 

“You ‘mkay?” Seth mumbled into the back of Dean’s shoulder. 

“How much did I drink? My fucking body hates me right now.”

“That wasn’t from the drinking,” Seth yawned, “That’s from every way you let me have you last night.” 

Dean thought back for a second and then smiled. He rediscovered the fact that when he was drunk, he was needy in bed. He begged Seth for it, letting him completely own his body, “Oh yeahhhhhh.”

“Yeahhhh,” Seth teased, letting Dean go so that he could turn and face him, “It’s all coming back to you now?”

“Getting hard just thinking about it again.” 

“Why am I not surprised? Seth chuckled, pulling him into his arms. 

“Honestly, I’m kidding,” Dean replied into his neck, “I don’t think I could get hard right now if I wanted to.”

“Ooooh,” Seth teased, “I was that good, huh?”

Dean giggled and kissed his cheek, “You know you are.”

“It’s nice to be reminded.” 

“Oh ok,” he answered, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Seth smiled then asked, “Baby why are we awake right now?”

Dean shrugged, “I have no idea. It just happened.”

“Just like everything else with us.” Seth joked.

“It’s true,” Dean smirked, “Very true.”

“Where were you this time last year?” Seth asked.

“Right here,” Dean replied, “Just by myself.”

“Were you happy?”

“Not as happy as I am now. Were you?”

Seth shook his head, “No. Life wasn’t good.”

Dean gave him a small reassuring look, “But you’re happy now?”

“God yes.” He replied without missing a beat.

“You promise?” Dean asked, running his hand up and down Seth’s arm, “That you’re happy?”

“I promise.”

“And if you’re ever unhappy that you’ll tell me so I can fix it?”

Seth couldn’t help smiling, “Of course I will.”

“Even if it’s me that’s making you unhappy?” He asked.

“I don’t think that’s possible.” Seth answered.

Dean raised his eyebrows, “You know what I mean.”

“I’ll tell you,” He grinned, “I promise, I will tell you. You’ll tell me too right?”

“Yes,” Dean answered, “I never want you and Shortcake to be unhappy again. Ever. For the rest of your lives, ok?”

“You’re the greatest,” He said quietly, before giving him a small kiss, “The greatest thing that ever happened to me.” (Aside from Annabelle, of course.)

Dean smiled, holding him close, “I love you.”

“Love you too.” He murmured into Dean’s cheek.

“Wanna show me again?” Dean asked, feeling his dick twitch to life.

Seth gripped him tightly and let out a small moan, “God yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this one!  
> Please let me know what you think, it always helps me out :)


	19. Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Seth are forced to crawl out of bed on their favorite day of the week. The reason is quite important though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for being along for this fun little ride, and giving me the feedback, it helps big time! I hope you like this one!

The world around Tatum was spinning at lightning speed. Her heart was pounding fiercely while her body internally jittered. Frozen in place, everything continued to zip around her in a blur and she didn’t know how to stop it. When she felt a hand on her shoulder and a stern voice saying, “You’re going to the office, young lady.”, she suddenly became grounded again. 

Blinking, she surveyed everything around her. She was in the main hallway at school with Ericka Jericho clutching her arm and reassuring her of something. Tatum had no idea what it even was. Angie Strowman was next to Ericka, jaw wide and in complete shock. Dozens of kids were standing around, their faces full of horror while others giggled.

Then Tatum realized why they were giggling. On the floor, a few feet in front of her sat the new girl. The new girl who had only been a student at the school for two days. The girl that instantly became aligned with the school bullies, and immediately came after Tatum. The girl who was now bleeding from her nose with a swollen eye that was turning purple, and was being attended to by teachers and the school nurse. Tatum started to feel a faint thudding in her hand. She looked down to see the knuckles on her right hand bright red and swollen. At that second, everything started to make sense.

***

“No,” Dean mumbled, into Seth’s shoulder when he heard his phone ringing, “No. It’s Wednesday. Wednesday’s are in bed.”

Seth smiled, kissing his forehead and reaching over for the phone. His eyebrows raised when he saw who was calling, “Uh baby, I think you should get this.”

***

Dean’s heart was hammering out of his chest while he stormed to the main office of Tatum’s school. When Roman and Gemma weren’t reachable during the school day, Dean was the next person on the list to contact. Today just happened to be that day. 

Once he made it to the office, he was ready to go off on whoever he needed to. The secretary escorted him to the Principal’s Office, where Tatum sat sadly on the couch. She was holding an ice pack on her hand, and her face was tear stained and swollen. The Principal, Mr. Gargano, knew exactly who Dean was. This wasn’t the first time Dean had to come pick Tatum up. In all honestly, he really wished that Tatum’s parents weren’t at work and unavailable that day.

“Are you ok?” Dean asked Tatum, sitting down next to her, while Mr. Gargano closed the door. 

Tatum nodded, although Dean knew that she was trying to put on a brave face. He sighed, then stood back up to face Mr. Gargano, “So what happened now?” he asked, crossing his arms across his chest, “Which one of these little assholes are you going to protect THIS time?”

Mr. Gargano took a deep breath, “None of them……”

“Wait, better yet, what the hell happened?!”

“Your niece was being harass-”

“AGAIN.” Dean glared, not allowing him to finish his sentence.

Swallowing hard, he continued, “…And to be quite frank Mr. Ambrose, Tatum beat the living hell out of the girl who was doing it.”

Dean blinked, “She what?!” His head snapped to Tatum, who slightly shrugged and sniffled hard. He turned back to Gargano, “So…who was this girl that came at her?”

“She’s a transfer student, who will now be finding another school to attend,” He explained, “Yesterday was her first day, and today is her last. This is her third school this semester, and I have the right to kick her out, which I did.”

“So why did she come at you, Tatum?” Dean asked calmly.

She shrugged, “Same reason everyone else does. Because I exist.”

Dean looked back to Gargano, his nostrils flaring and ears turning red, “It’s good to know that this is the kind of school you run. You have a straight A, Varsity soccer playing kid that can’t even come here without getting shit on. What the hell is wrong with you guys? Get a grip on these kids, isn’t that your JOB?”

“There were other young ladies involved, and they have been suspended,” he explained as calmly as he could, “If they even walk a step in the wrong direction after that, they’re being expelled and their parents will have to find another source of education for them.”

“Can’t be too hard, find the nearest dumpster.”

Gargano sighed, “Also, the school policy states that anyone involved in a fight is also to be suspended. Unfortunately, that includes Tatum, for three days.”

“Why?” Tatum asked, “She shoved me first.”

“I know, I agree. But it’s a zero tolerance policy.”

“That’s ok,” Dean said to Tatum, “That’s a 3 day vacation from this shit hole. There’s better things you can do. Anything else?” he asked Gargano.

He shook his head slowly, still wishing that Tatum’s parents were the ones he could have contacted. Without another word, Dean motioned to Tatum to get up and they left the office.

“You ok?” He asked, putting his arm around her while they walked down the hallway.

“Fuck no.” She replied, holding in her tears.

“How’s your hand?” he asked, as they exited the school and headed for his Jeep.

“Hurts like a bitch,” she answered, looking forward and seeing Seth in the passengers seat, “Uncle Seth came?!”

“Uh yeah,” Dean answered, “You think I was leaving him home? He’d have a meltdown.”

“What happened?!” Seth asked, when they climbed inside, “Are you ok?!”

He immediately turned to the back seat and faced Tatum. His heart dropped hard when he saw how bad she looked, “Please, please, please tell me that you knocked someone out.”

More tears fell down her face, prompting Dean to do a switch around. Seth hopped over into the driver’s seat so Dean could sit in the back to talk to her.

“Where we going?” Seth asked. 

“To go see Daddy-O,” He replied, taking the ice off Tatum’s hand and giving it a look, “Oh, wow. Yeah we have to have Roman look at this.”

“Christ Tatum, how hard did you hit her?” Seth asked, as he began driving out of the lot. 

“I don’t know,” She answered as tears began to fall, “I don’t remember it, it just happened.”

“Had that happen before,” Dean said, rubbing her back, “You just kind of snap. I get it babe, I get it.”

“I just….” she sniffled, “I’m just tired. I’m so tired. I don’t wanna do this anymore.”

“Do what?” Seth and Dean asked at the same time.

Tatum swallowed, “Stupid fucking school. I don’t understand why this keeps happening, I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong and it’s exhausting.”

Both Dean’s and Seth’s hearts sunk at her words, “I get it,” Seth replied, “I totally understand. When you feel like everyone is against you and you don’t understand why. It makes zero sense. Right?”

She nodded, “Exactly.”

“It sucks, I know kiddo,” Seth explained, “But you have people that are GOING to help you. We’ll get this figured out, ok?”

She sighed, “That’s what my mom always says.”

“Yeah well, it’s not your mom this time, it’s us.” Dean answered.

“Just….” she stopped, to wipe her eyes, “They don’t understand.”

“You know,” Dean started, “I don’t think you give your dad enough credit.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think that if you talked to him about it, without your mom, he would understand. Your mom flies off the handle, it’s just what she does. Your dad is calmer, he thinks things through. Maybe you need him for this.”

She nodded a little, “Yeah. My mom just always has to be involved in every fucking thing.”

Dean rolled his eyes while Seth pulled into the hospital lot, “I get that vibe,” he smirked, parking the Jeep and turning to them, “So who’s calling Roman?”

“Already got it,” Dean answered, putting his phone to his ear and waiting for an answer, “Hey man,” he said when Roman picked up, “How’s your day going?…..Oh, ok good…..so listen, can you meet me in the ER?….I’ll explain when I see you…..”

The first three words out of Dean’s mouth when they met up with Roman in the ER were, “Don’t freak out.”

Roman looked to his daughter, his heart bottoming out completely. He opened his arms to her, not anticipating the complete breakdown she had in his embrace. Roman managed to walk them into a side conference room, sitting Tatum down on the couch and crouching in front of her, “Tatum, relax baby. Everything’s ok, I promise just relax.”

“I’m sorry Daddy.” She cried.

Roman looked up to Dean and Seth, “TALK!”

Between the both of them, they got the entire story out to Roman. Each detail caused Tatum to cry harder, while Roman held her into him, “It’s ok, it’s ok, everything’s ok. I promise, it’s alright.”

“I’m sorry.” She repeated.

“Sorry for what?” Roman asked, nudging her so that she was looking at him, “Sorry for sticking up for yourself after some bitch had you cornered? Sorry for knocking her on her face after she shoved you? No, you don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“That’s what we said.” Dean and Seth replied in unison.

Roman turned to them, giving them a small look of appreciation before going back to concentrate on his daughter, “I don’t care that you got suspended, I don’t care about any of that shit. I only care that you’re alright.”

“Daddy,” She sniffled, “Can I PLEASE go to another school now?”

“Yes,” He answered, without hesitation, “Yes, you can.”

“What about mo-”

“I don’t care,” He answered, “Mom’s not the one that had to come get you from school. Mom’s not the one that has to check and see if your hand is broken ok? This is on me and you now, alright?”

Tatum thought she was imagining the entire conversation. Her Dad was….her dad was….wow. She looked up at Dean and Seth who both had their eyebrows raised as to say, “See? We told you.” 

“Yeah.” Tatum answered her dad.

“Hey, uh, Roman,” Seth started, getting his attention, “Listen, not that my opinion means much….”

“It does,” He corrected him, “Continue.”

Seth blinked, “Ok so I don’t know, because I’m not in this situation right now. But if it were Annabelle, and one of my options was to have her switch schools, that would be the way I’d go. There’s only so much we can do as dad’s, especially when it comes to girls. Little boys are different, we can level with that, we understand that better. This is really pretty insane.”

Roman nodded, then looked at Tatum, “You have a good Uncle, huh?”

For the first time that afternoon, she smiled, “Yeah, he’s passing Uncle Dean.”

“Excuse me?!” Dean asked with a smile.

Seth looked at Tatum and smirked, “Ooops.”

An hour later, Tatum was sitting on the bed in an exam room, waiting for her x-ray results to come back.

“I think we should totally have a monster ice cream party tonight,” Dean said with a smirk, “If there was ever a day that required one, it’s today.”

Tatum smiled, “I agree with that.”

“Depends,” Roman said, as he walked into the room, “If that means we’re jacking up two six year olds with sugar so they can run around my house like maniacs, then no.”

“Aweeeee.” Tatum, Dean and Seth pouted.

Roman rolled his eyes, of course he was down for an ice cream party. Who was he kidding? 

“Anyway,” He said to his daughter, walking over to the computer and pulling up her x-ray results, “You broke a knuckle, and a finger, sweetie.”

Her eyes widened, “Seriously?”

“Wooooaaahhhh.” Dean and Seth said, staring at the x-ray. 

Roman nodded, pointing to the screen and showing her the small cracks in her knuckle and finger, “Nothing needs to be popped back in place….”

“Oh thank Christ.” Dean interrupted, holding his stomach and making a sick face.

Roman shook his head and then looked back to his daughter, “Hand splint, ok?”

She nodded, “Yeah, ok.”

“How….” he stopped, looking down at her hand, “How many times, and how hard did you hit that girl?” 

She shrugged, “I don’t know. She was bleeding a lot though.”

Roman chuckled to himself, then stood up, “Alright, let me get a splint, have another doctor write you a pain med script and we’re out of here.”

“You’re leaving early?” She asked, in surprise.

“Uh, yes.” He winked, before walking out of the room.

Tatum slowly turned to Seth and Dean, “How did you know that? How did you know? I swear, he’s like a different person.”

“No,” Dean corrected her, “He’s always been that person. You’ve just never given him that much of a chance.”

Seth shrugged, “What he said.”

She smirked, “I guess not. I can’t believe he’s going home early too.”

Dean looked up at the clock, “Hmmm, speaking of early.”

Seth didn’t even have to look at the clock to know what Dean was referencing. He shook his head, and tried not to smile as big as he wanted to. 

“Wait….” Tatum laughed, “It’s Wednesday.”

“Yes, exactly,” Dean replied with a smile, “See what you did?”

“My bad,” She said, wiggling her eyebrows “But I mean, it is still early. Kids aren’t home for like another four hours.”

“Why is it acceptable to have this conversation with our 14 year old niece?” Seth asked.

“Because,” She replied, “I’m almost 15, and it’s not like I don’t know what you two clowns are up to anyway.”

“Clowns?” Seth asked.

“Clown sex?” Dean asked, making a disturbed face.

“That sounds mortifying, Uncle Dean.”

“What does?” Roman asked, when he came back into the room.

“Clown sex.” She answered.

“Excuse me?!” Roman asked, while Seth and Dean completely lost their composure, “What the hell is wrong with you three?”

“Trust me Dad,” Tatum smiled, “You don’t even wanna know.”

***

“What are we telling the kids?” Tatum asked later that afternoon, once Seth had left to go pick them up.

“Oooooh,” Dean replied, from where he sat at the kitchen table, “That’s a good question.”

“The truth?” Roman asked, sitting up on the counter.

“Oh,” Dean started, “And make them think it’s ok to break someone’s face? I don’t think so.”

“If we EXPLAIN to them WHY Tatum did it, so that they UNDERSTAND and know it’s NOT ok to just run around punching people, then sure.”

“Hi guys, I’m home!” Gemma’s voice echoed, as she walked in the door.

Tatum’s eyes widened and she looked at Roman in a slight panic. 

“Relax.” he replied, motioning to the table so she’d sit down.

Quickly she did so, almost knocking Dean off of his own chair. She hid her hand in her lap as Gemma came in, “Hey guys, what’s going on? Is Rylan at basketball practice?” 

The three of them were silent, expecting each other to answer. That was Gemma’s hint right away, “What happened?”

Roman cleared his throat, “Babe, I need you to not lose your cool, ok?”

“He said babe.” Dean whispered to Tatum.

“Oh shit.” She whispered back.

“What happened?” She frowned, looking from her husband, back to Dean and Tatum.

“Tatum had a little problem at school today.”

“What kind of problem?” 

Roman looked to his daughter, and she began to explain everything. When she was finished, Gemma had no color in her face, and had to actually sit down. Roman quickly got her a glass of water, while she absorbed everything that was going on.

Tatum and Dean were both ready for Gemma to explode. They had themselves braced, but were shocked when she didn’t, “Is your hand ok? Does it hurt?”

She shook her head, “No, it’s fine. Like it’s sore but it doesn’t really hurt.”

“Ok,” She nodded, “And this new girl is gone now?”

“Yes.”

“WE’RE HOME!” Sebastian shouted, as he and Annabelle came barreling into the kitchen, their backpacks bouncing as they ran.

“Hey guys!” Dean said, standing up and giving them both hugs, “How was school?!”

“It was good!” Sebastian smiled, “We got extra recess today because the whole class did good on their test!”

“Cool!” Dean smiled back, giving them both a high five. 

Seth, who had walked into the kitchen behind them, crouched down on the floor with them, “So listen ok?” Seth said to the kids with a small smile, “Can you guys go into the living room and start your homework for us? Then later after dinner we’re going to have an ice cream party ok?”

“ICE CREAM PARTY?!” They both cried out.

“You have to get your homework done first.” Dean smirked.

“OK!” They both exclaimed, taking off out of the kitchen. 

Seth stood back up, “What did I miss?”

***

Once dinner was over that evening, Annabelle and Sebastian were watching cartoons in the living room. Both of them kept peeking back, anxiously waiting for it to be ice cream time. The door bell ringing interrupted them, both jumping up for the door, “We’ll get it!” Sebastian shouted. 

“You expecting anyone?” Roman asked Gemma.

She shook her head while drying the dishes, “Nope.”

A few seconds later Annabelle shrieked and ran into the kitchen, “IT’S A MONSTER!”

“WHAT?!” Everyone asked at once. 

Roman headed to the front door to see Sebastian looking at him wide eyed, “It’s a giant man.” He whispered.

Still confused, Roman opened the door to find two of Tatum’s friends standing there. Ericka Jericho and Angie Strowman stood with smiles, confusing Roman as to why the kids were scared. Then Mr. Strowman appeared and everything made sense.

Chuckling, Roman looked down at Sebastian, “Seb, it’s ok dude, we know him.” 

“We do?” He asked, hiding behind Roman’s leg.

“Yes,” Roman smiled, opening the door, “Hey!” he smiled, letting them in.

“Hi Mr. Reigns,” Angie smiled back, tucking a strand of her brown curls behind her ear, “We came to see how Tatum’s doing.”

“That’s nice of you guys,” He replied, “Everyone’s in the kitchen.”

The girls headed that way while Mr. Strowman shook Roman’s hand, “Sorry if I scared your little ones.”

“It’s alright,“ Roman smiled, twisting and looked down to see Sebastian still hiding behind him, “It’s ok dude. You going to say hi?”

Slowly he walked out from behind Roman and looked up at Mr. Strowman, “H-Hi Mr. Strow-Strowman.”

He chuckled, extending two of his fingers to shake Sebastian’s small hand with, “You can call me Braun.”

“Oh. Ok.” He smiled, shaking his fingers.

Roman chuckled, “This is Sebastian. He’s Dean’s son.”

“From the restaurant?!” He asked.

“Yeah, that’s my Papa’s restaurant.” Sebastian replied proudly.

“Wow!” Braun smiled, “That’s the best place in town.”

Sebastian giggled, “Yup!” 

“We’re about to crack open some ice cream,” Roman said to Braun, “If you guys want to join.”

“I’ll never say no to ice cream.” He smiled.

When Roman, Sebastian and Braun walked into the kitchen, Annabelle let out a scream. She was glued in Dean’s lap, now hiding her face in his shoulder, “It’s the monster!”

“Annabelle, he’s not a monster,” Seth replied, shaking his head and looking to Braun, “I’m sorry about that.”

“She gets overwhelmed easily.” Tatum explained to him quietly.

“Ah, I see,” Braun replied, walking over and crouching down in front of her and Dean, “Hey little one. I’m Angie’s Daddy, not a silly monster.”

Annabelle let go and turned to him, her face curious, “You’re Angie’s daddy?”

He nodded, “Yep.”

“Wow, how much milk did you drink what you were a kid?” She asked, getting laughs from everyone in the room.

Braun smiled, “LOTS.”

Annabelle giggled and slid off Dean’s lap, “Nice to meet you.” she said to him.

“You as well.”

“Nipple rings?” Seth whispered into Dean’s ear.

Dean slowly turned to him and glared, “You’re an ass.”

“Are you guys joining our ice cream party?” Gemma asked them.

“Uh definitely.” Angie smiled.

Gemma passed out bowls, handing a salad bowl to Braun, “Big enough?”

He chuckled, “Perfect.”

Seth and Dean weren’t prepared for Ericka to have a realization while they were making their sundaes, “You were at my party, right?” she asked Seth.

Seth’s eyes widened and he looked at Tatum, who then looked at Dean. Dean stuttered for a second and then turned to Seth, “Shit.”

“Seth?” Roman asked, raising his eyebrow, “You were at Ericka’s party?”

Gemma’s spoon hit the counter with a clink, “Ok, my heart can’t handle anymore surprises today, you guys.”

Tatum took a deep breath and looked at Ericka and Angie, “So, that’s my Uncle Seth, and he’s a professor at Neidhart, not a student.”

Ericka’s jaw dropped, when she put the pieces together, “Oh my God, that was GENIUS. How do I get an Uncle THAT cool?!”

She shrugged, “I don’t know, he just kind of showed up.”

“Ok,” Roman began, “Tatum, start explaining. This makes zero sense.”

“If it gets any deeper I’m going to need a beer instead of ice cream.” Braun chuckled.

Tatum couldn’t help laughing before she told everyone the story from beginning to end. Roman and Gemma continually looked from Seth to Tatum, trying to comprehend what he had done for their daughter that night. When Tatum was finished, Angie was the first to speak, “Well, Uncle Seth, you definitely pass for a college kid, that’s for sure. That was a badass idea too.” 

“All of the girls wouldn’t shut up about you.” Ericka smiled.

Seth shrugged while Dean nudged him, “College kid, huh?”

“Shut up.”

“Did you ever get the stain out of your shirt?” Ericka asked Tatum.

“You mean MY shirt?” Dean replied.

“That was YOUR shirt?” Ericka replied.

“Oh my Lord,” Gemma breathed, unsure if she truly wanted to know, “Tatum why were you wearing Dean’s shirt?” 

She shrugged, “Because Uncle Seth didn’t like the outfit I was wearing, so he made me put on one of Uncle Dean’s shirts over top.”

“Nice.” Roman chuckled, giving Seth a nod of approval. 

Both Gemma and Roman were still processing everything that their daughter had told them about the events of Ericka’s party. Part of them felt a little left out that Tatum didn’t let them know what had went on. But at the same time they were relieved that Dean and Seth were aware and made sure she was alright that entire night. They both already trusted Seth with their kids, but the fact that their kids fully trusted him as well meant everything. 

Sometime during the intense conversation, Sebastian and Annabelle ended up with an entire bottle of whipped cream to themselves. Two giant towers of the white fluff were toppling their bowls, everyone else sitting at the island, too involved in their chit-chat to notice.

The topic had switched from the events of Ericka’s party to Tatum’s potential school switch. Braun knew first hand along with Roman and Gemma how awful the bullying in that school was. Although his daughter luckily was never a daily target of it, he still fully sympathized with Tatum, “Tatum, if you feel safer going to a new school honey, and your parents are ok with it, I don’t blame you one bit.”

“It’ll kind of be a fresh start too,” Ericka said, pouring more fudge onto her ice cream, “If that’s the kind of thing you feel that you need.”

Braun nodded, “Very true.”

“Your turn.” Annabelle whispered to Sebastian.

He nodded, casually sliding from his chair over to the counter. Slowly, he got the container of rainbow sprinkles and returned to where they were sitting, “Jackpot.” He whispered.

Somehow, aside from their mountain of whipped cream, they managed to sneak two more scoops of chocolate chips, another handful of rainbow sprinkles, and two more cherries each.

“Best sundae ever.” Sebastian snickered.

Angie was struck by an idea while the adults were talking, “Hey Tatum, let me run something by you ok?”

She nodded, “Ok.”

“Finals start on your first day back. Why don’t you come to school JUST for finals and then go home? That way you can kind of feel out the vibe a little bit, and see what’s going on. Maybe it’ll be totally different now after what happened.”

“Yeah,” Ericka added, “I have a feeling that no one is even going to look at you wrong anymore.”

“Besides,” Angie added, “We just had to do all of that paper work and stuff for History so we could choose which time period we wanted. I wouldn’t want that to go to waste for you over some little jerk.”

Tatum looked to Roman and he shrugged, “If that’s what you want to do, that’s fine. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea. That way you’ll know for sure. One of us will pick you up right after your finals. If stuff is shitty, you won’t go back.”

“That sounds pretty cool.” She answered.

“Then that’s the plan.” Roman replied.

Just as Braun was about to speak, he paused looking at the table where Sebastian and Annabelle were sitting, “Wow, those sundaes are bigger than mine.”

“Huh?” Roman asked, as everyone turned their attention to the kids.

“What the hell?!” Dean asked, wide eyed.

“Seriously?!” Seth exclaimed.

“We’ve been had.” Sebastian whispered, as both of them slid down in their seats so that the only thing visible were their ice cream mountains.

Rylan, who had been quietly listening the entire time, glanced over to the counter where the toppings had been sitting, “You little squirts, you have EVERYTHING over there don’t you?!”

Slowly, their heads came back up and they both produced innocent smiles. Annabelle had whipped cream on her nose, while Sebastian had sprinkles on his shirt. 

“I don’t even know what to do right now.” Dean said, with a blank look.

Seth scratched the top of his head and sighed, “Happy Wednesday, babe.”  
***

“Hey, Dad?”

Tatum’s voice interrupted Roman from his thoughts. He was leaning back on his bed, playing on his iPad when she popped her head in.

“What’s up?” He asked looking up at her.

“Um,” she started, “Can I talk to you?”

Roman’s heart stopped for a second at her question. He wasn’t used to that at all, ever. Dean told him earlier that night, that Tatum had realized that Roman would always be behind her. No matter what ever happened, he would always be standing there with her. That he also could be her friend if she let him. He proved it to her without a doubt that day. This was part of it now.

“What’s up?” he asked, trying not to sound as concerned as he was.

Quietly, she sat on the bed facing him and took a breath, “I have to show you something.” she said, handing him her phone. 

Roman looked down and began to read the Facebook message that was on her screen. His jaw dropped wide and he looked back at her, “He sent you this tonight?”

“Yeah. He said that he tried to message you and mom, but neither of you replied. You guys probably don’t check your other folders. He found me instead.”

“Who found you?” Gemma asked, walking in from the bathroom and climbing onto the bed.

Roman swallowed and turned to his wife, “Charlie’s back.”

Her face fell deep, “Charlie….Ambrose?!”

He nodded, “Yeah. He found Tatum on Facebook and sent her a message. He wants to talk to us.”

“He sounds kind of sorry,” Tatum said to her mother, “Like he really wants to talk to Uncle Dean. He doesn’t have a Facebook so he couldn’t find him that way.”

Roman and Gemma exchanged a concerned look before he looked to Tatum, “Let’s see what he wants.”

“What are you doing?” Tatum asked, watching her dad tap out a message on her phone.

“Giving him my number. If he wants to talk to Dean, he has to go through me first.”

Within a minute, Roman’s phone lit up and rang from a number he didn’t know. He glanced from Tatum to Gemma and then answered the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> Did you guys like or dislike having a chapter that's heavily on the Reigns family? Be honest! :)  
> Also...Charlie? Who? Wtf does he want?!  
> Uh oh.


	20. What Does He Want?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What did he want?!” Dean asked her, ignoring Seth’s question and looking down at the phone screen.
> 
> “Woah, calm down,” Roman said, “I took her phone and started talking to him myself. Apparently he’s been trying to reach out to you for years…..”
> 
> “FOR WH-”
> 
> “STOP!” Roman, Gemma and Tatum exclaimed in unison, “Let him talk, Uncle Dean.” Tatum scolded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!  
> Thanks for all of the feedback thus far, it is super helpful.   
> This chapter takes a bit of a turn, hopefully you'll like it though! :)

“So, we have this figured out right?” Seth asked with a small chuckle, while he leaned against Dean’s kitchen counter, looking at his laptop screen.

“Yes,” Dean smirked back, giving him a kiss on his cheek, “Stop worrying.” 

It was Thursday afternoon, the kids were upstairs playing and Dean and Seth had a hectic upcoming Friday to finalize. Seth was going to a conference at another college in the area. He’d be gone the entire day and into the evening, definitely not making it back before bedtime. In addition to that, Dean would be working the entire day and most of the night with Rocco, covering for another manager who needed off. 

The easy fix of course, was to ask Uncle Roman and Aunt Gemma to watch the kids. But, they were going to a surprise birthday party for one of Gemma’s coworkers. That left Tatum, and she was beyond excited to do it. She and Gemma would pick the kids up from the bus stop after school, and take them back to their house for the night.

“They have enough clothes and stuff at Roman’s right?” Seth asked, still looking at his screen,

“Aside from what we’re NOT supposed to know that they buy them? Yes.” Dean chuckled.

Seth smirked, then started typing a few notes that he needed to update. He let out a sigh, “Yeah, this is what being a smarty pants gets you. Hours of fixing presentations and making sure your notes sound good.”

Dean smirked back, tugging him upright and into his arms, You’re my favorite smarty-pants though.”

Seth tilted his head and gave him a small kiss, “Good to know.”

Dean gave Seth’s hips a squeeze, before kissing him again. Seth melted into it, more so when Dean deepened it and then ran his fingers under Seth’s shirt.

“Baby,” Seth giggled, breaking the kiss, “Roman and Gemma are going to be here soon.”

He sighed, wrinkling his nose at Seth, “No fair”

Seth smiled, giving him another small kiss, “I love you.”

“Mmmmm,” Dean grinned against Seth’s lips, “Love you too.”

“Hey guys!” Gemma called, walking in the front door with Roman and Tatum.

“Hey, in here!” Dean called back, unhappily releasing his grip around Seth. 

Dean and Seth had no idea why they were stopping over that afternoon. Dean got a phone call from Roman saying that they were coming over, and that was really it. It wasn’t really too out of the ordinary, so Dean thought nothing unusual of it.

The three of them walked into the kitchen, getting smiles from Dean and Seth, “Hey what are you guys up to?” Seth asked.

“Besides interrupting.” Dean teased. 

“Psssh,” Tatum giggled, “It’s not Wednesday.”

Gemma and Roman looked at her in confusion while Dean and Seth laughed, “Oh, what? It’s day of the week specific now?” Seth asked.

“What are you guys even talking about?” Roman asked.

Dean winked to Tatum and then changed the subject, “How’s the hand?”

“Good,” She answered, “A little sore but it doesn’t really hurt too much or anything.”

“Is it nasty looking?” Dean asked.

She shrugged, carefully taking the hand splint off and showing them. Dean made a sour face at the different shades of blue and purple that her knuckles were, “Owe.”

“Wow,” Seth replied, “Tatum Balboa.” 

“Something like that.” She blushed, putting the splint back on.

It took Roman a second to clear his throat, “Dean, um, we have to talk to you about something, ok?”

Dean knew that look on Roman’s face. He had seen it tons of times in his life, and it made his stomach drop, “Like what?” 

“We should probably sit down.” Gemma suggested.

Dean looked to Seth and then back at them, “Ok.”

Tatum stayed standing, pulling her phone out and waiting for everyone to be seated at the kitchen table to begin, “Um, Uncle Dean,” she started, sliding her phone to him, “Last night I got some messages on Facebook. They’re from your brother.” 

Dean’s face fell, while Seth looked at him completely baffled, “You have a brother?”

“What did he want?!” Dean asked her, ignoring Seth’s question and looking down at the phone screen.

“Woah, calm down,” Roman said, “I took her phone and started talking to him myself. Apparently he’s been trying to reach out to you for years…..”

“FOR WH-”

“STOP!” Roman, Gemma and Tatum exclaimed in unison, “Let him talk, Uncle Dean.” Tatum scolded.

Dean folded her arms tight to his chest, his face feeling like it was in flames. Seth was next to him, blindsided and unsure of what to even think at that point.

Roman continued, “You don’t have a Facebook, he couldn’t get you there. You changed your number, so he couldn’t get you that way. He tried to get Gemma and I on Facebook, but we clearly don’t understand how message folders work.”

“Don’t freak out, Dean.” Gemma said as calmly as she could.

Dean was gripping on the side of the chair tightly, trying to keep himself together, “What…what’s he fucking want? Europe got boring so he decided to come home and….”

“STOP,” Tatum exclaimed, “Uncle Dean just shut up and listen to my dad!” 

He sighed again, “Ok fine.”

“He’s back in the States permanently,” Roman explained, “He’s always thought something wasn’t right with the story he got out of your parents. But being in two different countries it was pretty easy for your parents to manipulate the story how they wanted. He never sided with them. We all just assumed he did.”

Dean was fighting his hardest to hold back his tears. He was torn up, not even sure which way his emotions were trying to go, “I don’t believe him.” he squeaked.

“I think you should at least hear him out, Uncle Dean,” Tatum replied quietly, “We actually talked to him, he seems like he’s being genuine.”

“You -talked- to him?!” Dean asked, wide eyed.

“Yeah, we did,” Roman replied, “It’s your choice obviously, but we don’t think it’s a terrible idea. You know if we did, we would have told him to go fuck himself.”

“Language.” Gemma said to Roman.

“Because she’s not hearing it at school?” Roman replied.

Gemma rolled her eyes, while Roman continued, “Listen,” he said to Dean, “It’s up to you. If you want us to tell him to leave you alone, then we will.”

Dean closed his eyes and sighed, “Just let me…let me think about it.”

“Take your time,” Roman replied, “It’s a lot, we get that.”

He nodded a little bit, then glanced at Seth. His stomach dropped when he saw the look on his face. 

“So, when were you going to tell me that you had a brother?” Seth asked flatly, his eyes pouring with hurt and anger. 

“I…” he stopped, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Oh….crap.” Tatum whispered to her dad.

Roman nodded slightly, wondering why his best friend kept this a secret from Seth.

“You what?” Seth shot, getting up from the chair and grabbing his laptop off the counter.

“Seth, please.” Dean replied, standing up.

Seth ignored him, throwing his laptop in his bag and securing the strap over his shoulder. He turned and looked to Gemma, “Gem, you’re still good to get the kids tomorrow?”

“Of course.” She answered, giving him a reassuring grin.

“Thanks.” He replied, before leaving the kitchen.

“Fuck.” Dean breathed, as tears started to fall.

“Annabelle!” Seth called up the stairs, “C’mon, it’s time to go!”

Both kids appeared at the top of the steps a few seconds later, “Already, Daddy?” she asked.

“Yeah I still have some stuff to finish before tomorrow ok?” He asked.

She frowned, mumbling a small ‘goodbye’ to Sebastian and coming down the stairs. Sadly, she looked up at Seth, “But Daddy it’s so early.” 

“Baby, I know and I’m sorry,” he replied quietly, “I just have so much to do, ok?”

She sighed, “Ok Daddy.”

 

***

 

Annabelle laid awake that night, staring up at the ceiling while her mind wandered. Something still didn’t sit well with her about that day. Her and her Daddy -never- left Dean’s house until after dinner. Not that she minded the chicken nuggets that Seth had made her that night. Something was definitely not right. Even if he had a lot of work to do, there had been tons of times when he did it at Dean’s house. 

Unsettled, and starting to get nervous over the situation she climbed from her bed. She quietly made her way down the hallway to Seth’s room, hoping to sneak in without him waking up. She stood by the door, the bedroom lit up dimly by a nightlight, but missing the sound of Seth’s light snores. Tonight it was replaced by sniffles instead.

Seth jolted when he felt Annabelle climb onto the bed with him, “Daddy?” she whispered quietly, laying down so that she was facing him.

He sniffled hard, “Hey. Can’t sleep?”

She shook her head, “No. Are you ok?”

Seth swallowed, wiping his eyes and nodded, “Yeah, just really worried about this work stuff you know?”

“It’s a big deal right? So big that you have to go to a whole different school and stuff.”

“Exactly,” He fibbed, “It’s a lot of work. I’m very tired but I can’t sleep.”

Annabelle thought for a second and then asked, “Do you want me to read you a story?”

Seth chuckled, a couple more tears falling, “Thank you baby, but I’m ok.”

The last thing Seth wanted was to turn the light on and have Annabelle see how upset he really was. The entire situation struck a small fear into Seth. If Dean was hiding something as MAJOR as having a brother, was there more he was keeping to himself? Was there some part of Dean that didn’t trust Seth enough to tell him about his brother? Was he ever even planning to tell him? It stung. It stung a lot. 

There was clearly a lot going on with the situation and Seth knew none of it. Dean had text Seth twice that night, both of which Seth didn’t respond too. He was still too hurt. His first text asked Seth if he was ok. Of course he wasn’t ok, what kind of question was that? The second text asked if they could talk. No, he didn’t want to talk to him at all. It hurt. Roman’s texts were out of genuine concern for Seth. He never once made any excuses for Dean, just checked to make sure Seth was alright. Tatum even sent Seth a text message as well, telling him that she was sorry that he was upset and that she loved him. Seth answered both of them, but he still couldn’t talk to Dean.

“Be right back.” Annabelle whispered, jumping from the bed and taking off out of the room.

She returned quickly, and got back on the bed with her favorite stuffed pink unicorn, Paisley, “Here Daddy. You can hug Paisley, she’ll make you feel better.”

Seth smiled at the unicorn who was half the size of Annabelle, “How about I hug you both?”

“Ok.” She smiled back, getting snuggled under the blankets and into Seth’s arms with Paisley. He kissed the top of her head and sighed into her hair, “Love you Shortcake.”

Squeezing on to him as hard as she could she answered, “Love you too Daddy.”

***

The following day was complete hell for Dean and Seth. The entire situation had Dean chewed up and spit back out. He had no idea what to do about his brother. The only thing he wanted to do was talk to Seth about it. Seth fixed everything, he always knew what to do. Dean couldn’t do that at all. He knew that he had fucked up. He really should have told Seth about his brother. It was a little too late at that point, and he was struggling horribly trying to figure out what to do about it. 

Dean had been at the restaurant all day, working with Rocco and helping out where he was needed. It was a normal busy Friday, staying steady with dine in, and carry out until about 9:30. Dean must have checked his phone 98 times during the course of his shift. To his tremendous disappointment, there wasn’t a single call or text from Seth.

After shoving his phone back in his pocket again, he started wiping off the counter and putting out new placemats. He froze in his tracks when he noticed two sets of eyes staring up at him from the other end of the counter, “What….” he started, looking at Annabelle and Sebastian, “Who….how….?”

Dean quickly glanced around and when he didn’t see anyone else with them, his heart dropped, “How did you get here? Who are you here with?” 

Sebastian swallowed, “We walked.”

Dean’s jaw dropped wide, “You did WHAT?!”

“Walked.” Annabelle repeated.

“Oh my God,” he breathed, walking around the counter and kneeling in front of him, “Do you two have ANY idea how dangerous that is?! Tatum is probably worried sick!”

“She thinks we’re asleep,” Annabelle answered, “She’s watching scary movies with Ericka and Angie.”

“Oh for God’s sake!” he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead, “Ok, so what are you both doing here?!”

Annabelle gathered her courage and began to explain, “My Daddy was crying last night. He said it was because of work, but I think something’s wrong. Can you please fix him?” 

“Please Papa?” Sebastian added, his eyes pouring with sadness, “She’s scared.”

“Santa said that I’m the only thing that my Daddy needs to feel better,” She said, as tears started to trickle down her face, “But I don’t think I worked this time.” 

Dean’s heart sunk deep into the pit of his stomach. He was hurting just as much, but hearing what Seth was going through nearly crushed him. Even worse was the little girl in front of him, who he practically considered his daughter, now in tears and hurting as well. 

“Ok,” he said softly, pulling Annabelle into his arms tightly. She let out a small whimper as tears continued to fall, “Annabelle don’t cry ok? We’re gonna go fix your Daddy, and he won’t cry anymore. I’m sorry it scared you, ok?”

She sniffled and nodded into his shoulder. He stood up, still carrying her in his arms and looked to Rocco, “I’m going to cut out, ok?”

“Sure thing boss,” Rocco replied, “No worries.”

“Thanks man!” Dean called back, before kissing the side of Annabelle’s head, “Let’s go fix your daddy.”

***

On the way to Seth and Annabelle’s house, Dean made a phone call to Tatum. She was completely devastated to find out that the kids took off without any of them knowing. In tears, she apologized profusely, although Dean reassured her that it was alright. 

“We’re sorry, Tatum!” Sebastian called, leaning forward so that she would hear him through the phone.

“Tell him I’m going to bust his ass.” Tatum replied.

Dean smirked, “I will.”

Seth had just sat down on the couch, groaning while loosening his tie. He hated going to other colleges to do meetings and conferences. They were the worst. He hated that he didn’t get to see his daughter that night. Top that off with the fact that he and Dean hadn’t spoken in an entire day, Seth’s heart ached something fierce. As tears began to form, the front door unlocked and an unexpected surprise entered.

“Found something.” Dean said, half sarcastically walking in with the kids.

Seth’s eyes bulged and he climbed from the couch, “What the….why….why aren’t you at Uncle Roman’s?”

“I’ll explain it to you in a minute,” Dean replied, looking down at the kids, “Say goodnight, and get your asses in bed.”

“Goodnight.” They both said quietly.

Still confused, Seth gave them both a hug and a kiss, and watched them head for the stairs. 

Dean waited until they were out of sight and ear shot, before sighing and looking at Seth, “Listen,” he started, “You’re really not going to like this.”

Seth swallowed hard, “Just tell me.”

“They snuck out of Roman’s and came up to the restaurant.”

“They what?!” Seth cried out, “How did they get there?!”

Dean inhaled, “They walked.”

Seth thought he was going to fall over. He closed his eyes, trying to keep the pure fear of the situation from running through him.

“I know,” Dean said, feeling what he did only a little bit prior, “But they’re ok. That’s all that matters right now, ok?”

Seth nodded and looked back to him, “Why the fuck did they do that?!”

It took Dean a second to swallow up his nerve, “They needed to talk to me, and apparently just calling me wasn’t a good enough option. Annabelle is really upset, because you were crying last night. She wanted me to come fix you.” 

Seth was at a complete loss for words. He closed his eyes and sighed, “I hate how smart they are.”

“I know, I know,” Dean agreed, “Just um, make sure you tell Annabelle that she made you feel better last night ok?”

“What do you mean?”

“She um, she really took that Santa letter to heart,” Dean explained, “And she thinks that she wasn’t able to make you feel better last night.”

Seth shook his head a little bit, “She did. But they’re just too freaking smart.” 

Dean couldn’t help letting out a small chuckle, “I know, I know.”

Seth sighed, running his hand over his hair, “Dean, I’m wiped out. Today was long, and stupid and I wish I could just erase it. Right now I really can’t handle --”

“I know,” he interrupted sadly, “Me too. But, I…I owe you an explanation ok?”

Seth looked at him defeated, “Yeah, you do.”

He took a breath, “Seth it’s exhausting ok? I don’t know if that’s how you felt, but it’s how I felt.”

“Felt? About what?” He asked confused.

“When you told me everything about your family,” he answered, “When I told you about mine, it literally took everything in me to do it. Not because I didn’t want you to know. It just drained me. My brother didn’t come up that first day when we were talking about our families, so I didn’t bring him up. That would have just been even more for me. Then I never exactly had a random opening to bring him up after that.”

Seth folded his arms, “Dean, you could have said something whenever you wanted to.”

He swallowed hard, “And say what? That I have a brother, who I can’t stand and I don’t ever want to speak to again? I’m supposed to say that to you? Who lost his sister, and won’t ever have an opportunity to speak to her again? While I’m sitting here with a chance that I won’t take? How much of an selfish asshole does that make me?”

Seth’s entire face fell at Dean’s words. Immediately, Dean felt panic while he waited for Seth to explode on him. Instead, he quietly answered, “It doesn’t. It doesn’t at all, Dean.”

“How?” 

He swallowed, “Every situation is different. If you choose not to speak to your brother because he hurt you, you have that right. Nothing that ever happened in my life should EVER keep you from telling me something. No matter what it is.”

Dean nodded a little, still apprehensive and slightly shaky, “He’s a couple years older than me, his name is Charlie. When he was in college he got to study abroad, went to Europe and stayed there. Now, according to Roman, he’s back.”

“They said that he knows that your parents didn’t really tell him the truth. That he never wanted to lose contact with you, that you and Roman jumped the gun on it before he could talk to you. Do you believe him?” 

“I don’t know,” he replied in a small whisper, “I think a part of me wants to, and another part of me doesn’t want to, and another part of me wishes this wasn’t happening.”

Seth stepped forward, reaching over and holding on to Dean’s hand, “If he has bad intentions, what do you think they’d be?”

He thought for a minute and then shrugged, “I don’t…I don’t know. I can’t think of anything. But that doesn’t….that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have them. I never thought my parents would….and….” he paused when tears began to form.

Seth felt his heart sink deep inside of him. Dean looked scared, he looked almost weak, as if it wasn’t Dean at all anymore. Gently, Seth put his arms around Dean’s waist and kissed his forehead, “I won’t let him. Ok?” he said softly.

Dean nodded and then choked out, “What does he want? What could he fucking want?”

“Nothing he’s going to get,” Seth replied, holding him securely, “Unless we’re ok with it. Ok?”

“Seth are you sure?” He asked into the side of his neck.

“I promise.” 

“I’m sorry,” Dean squeaked out, “I’m so sorry.” 

Seth nudged Dean’s head up and held the side of his face, “Is there anything else I need to know? I promise, I won’t be mad Dean. Just tell me ok?”

“Nothing,” he sniffled, looking at him, “I swear, there’s nothing.”

“Ok,” he replied, “It’s ok baby, just relax.”

“I’m sorry I made you cry,” Dean whispered, his voice cracking slightly, “I’m sorry about everything.”

“It’s ok baby, it’s alright.”

“Are you sure?”

Seth nodded, resting his forehead against Dean’s, “Yeah.”

Dean brushed his lips against Seth’s, “I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” He answered, before their lips connected in a long kiss. 

It was soft, loving, and poured everything out that they were feeling. It kept going until Dean gently pulled away, “Longest day of my life,” Dean admitted, “So long.”

“I know, I’m never in my teacher clothes this late.” he smirked, hoping to lighten Dean’s mood. 

Dean’s eyebrows raised, before he investigated Seth’s outfit, “Well….that just made my night better.”

“I figured it would.”

“Did I ever tell you?” Dean started, leaving a small kiss on his lips, “That you’re the hottest teacher on this planet?” Dean smirked.

“Maybe once or twice,” Seth teased, “Along with things you want to do to me in my office, you know, stuff like that.”

Dean grinned into Seth’s cheek, “Well, we definitely have a desk downstairs that will work.”

“Oh, -we- do?” Seth joked.

He pulled away slightly and smirked, “I mean it’s yours, but I think it….” he paused, leaving a few slow, small kisses on his lips, “Would look good in the office at my house. The rest of your stuff would look good in my house too.”

Seth’s eyebrows almost raised off his forehead, “Wait….”

Dean didn’t let him finish his sentence, “Yes, I’m saying what you think I am,” he paused and kissed him again, giving him a tight squeeze, “I want to wake up every morning next to you,” he started, leaving a long kiss on his lips, “I want to fall asleep next to you every night, I want the kids to be stable, I want us to watch them both grow up together, I want to make sure Annabelle’s safe with me too.” 

Seth rested his forehead against Dean’s as a couple of tears slid down his face, “That sounds fucking amazing, and yes I want all of it too.”

Smiling, Dean wiped Seth’s cheeks and replied, “We have to make sure it’s ok with the kids first.”

“I know. I think it will be.”

“Me too.” Dean answered, overtaken in happiness he hadn’t felt before, “I love you.” 

Seth smiled back, “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think guys? Should we meet Charlie? Did Seth and Dean's issues make you a little nervous?


	21. Hurricane Charlie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regardless of his intentions, there would be a significant aftermath from his storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! :)  
> Thank you for the love so far!   
> This chapter was super hard, don't ask me why but I had really bad writer's block. Hopefully I did alright though.   
> Enjoy!

Seth wasn’t sure how or when he ended up in his current position. Sitting up in Dean’s bed, he quietly watched Dean sleep, hoping he’d finally get some rest. It was after midnight at this point, and Seth’s eyes could hardly stay open anymore. He wouldn’t allow himself to sleep though. Not just yet anyway. 

The previous day had been significantly emotional for Dean, putting him in a state of exhaustion. It was Wednesday, which was supposed to be Dean and Seth’s day to themselves. This time it was completely different. This was the day that they decided that they would meet with Charlie. Roman’s house served as neutral ground early that afternoon. Charlie had been to Roman’s house dozens of times before in the past, prompting Roman to suggest it. 

 

***

[Wednesday afternoon, Roman’s living room]

There was no doubt that Charlie was Dean’s brother. They were almost identical, and had the same mannerisms about them. Seth could tell that it was hard for Charlie to say whatever it was on his mind. He credited him greatly for actually being able to though. Charlie sat in the recliner, clearly a little nervous, while Dean and Seth sat across the room on the sectional couch. Tatum, Roman and Gemma were on the other end of it, all of them listening intently. 

“I guess I’ll just start from the beginning,” Charlie began, looking over to Dean, “I didn’t believe anything that Mom and Dad said, De. It didn’t make sense, they never gave me full explanations on anything. If I brought it up, the subject got changed. I knew better than to think that you would just basically disassociate yourself from us for no reason.”

Dean sat with his eyebrows raised, “So you just sat on it then? Didn’t try and figure it out?”

“Well, like I told Roman and Gemma, you made yourself a ghost pretty quickly. You had cut your number off, you don’t have social media, and deleted your old email. I was in another country, what was I supposed to do exactly?”

Dean felt Seth give his hand a small squeeze, telling him to take his defense down just a bit. Dean squeezed back and then asked, “What made you come home?”

Charlie sat quietly for a second, clearly struggling with his thoughts, “De, there’s not really an easy way to say this. I came home five months ago because dad died.”

Gemma and Tatum gasped, Roman and Seth’s eyes widened and Dean didn’t flinch. He sat, squeezing onto Seth’s hand until his knuckles were white, “What happened?” he asked flatly.

“He had a heart attack.”

“You decided to stay after that?” Dean asked, the news of his father’s death not phasing him. 

“I had been thinking about it for awhile,” Charlie answered, “With that happening, it kind of influenced my decision. So I went back to Europe, got everything in order and moved back permanently three months ago. But De, at the wake, a lot of people were asking me about you. They had gotten pretty scarce information about where you went too. So I did some of my own digging and I sort of came up with the truth on my own.” 

Dean blinked, “How the hell did you do that?”

Charlie let out a sigh, pulling his phone from his pocket. He flipped through it for a second and then looked to Dean, “I didn’t have to look too far.” he said, handing Dean the phone.

Both Seth and Dean were stunned as they studied the screen. It was an arrest record for Dean’s ex. He was currently doing time in jail for spousal abuse, breaking a restraining order and violating probation.

“That answered all of my questions pretty quickly.” Charlie said quietly.

Dean closed his eyes, hoping that the vision of his ex’s mug shot would disappear. Seth passed the phone to Roman and Gemma, who shared the exact same level of shock. 

“I’m not going to ask, because it’s not my business,” Charlie started, “But I just want you to know that I never believed mom and dad. I will never understand why they lied…”

“They loved him more,” Dean interrupted, “You knew that too. He was perfect, remember? They always used to ask if he had a perfect sister to hook you up with.”

The memory came back to Charlie and he nodded, “Yeah. I remember.”

“Nothing I ever did was good enough,” Dean said to Charlie, “To them. To him. Nothing. Ever. He was the son they wanted, not me. That’s why. That’s also why I’m not sad that he’s dead, and I won’t miss her when she’s gone either.”

Charlie nodded slightly, “I know. I wasn’t coming here to try and change your mind, and I never will. I just wanted you to know, that I never blamed you for anything, and I still want to be your brother.”

 

***

[Approximately 8:30 pm, Wednesday night]

 

“Hey…” Seth said softly, climbing into bed with Dean.

When Dean didn’t answer, Seth felt a pinch of hurt go through him. He had just tucked the kids into bed, both of them believing that Dean wasn’t feeling well. The truth was, he really wasn’t feeling well at all. After they had gotten home from Roman’s that afternoon, Dean went right up to bed and didn’t move. His arm rested across his eyes, keeping the light away while his mind ran off to places it hadn’t been in years.

Seth sighed a little, running his hand up and down Dean’s side, “Dean.”

Dean moved his arm, and looked up at Seth with pure sadness in his puffy eyes. Seth felt his heart ache even further, as he laid down with him, “Hey,” he said again, running his hand over Dean’s hair, “Talk to me. Please.”

He swallowed hard, “I don’t know where to start.”

“Anywhere you want.” He replied, giving him a small reassuring kiss.

Dean glanced away for a second awhile he gathered his thoughts, “I’m not sad that he’s dead,” he said in a whisper, “I’m not.”

Seth nodded, “I know, and that’s your right, ok? He hurt you, Dean, both of your parents did. You’re allowed to feel however you want to, and no one can ever argue that. Roman and Gemma agree, and even Charlie said he understood. Ok baby?”

Dean swallowed, “Yeah.”

“What do you think about Charlie?”

“He,” Dean started, “He found me.”

“Right.” Seth replied.

“I really thought that he bought into my parents shit. That I’d never see him again either.”

“And now?”

“I…It would be nice…if he was around again.”

Seth nodded, “Yeah, that would be pretty cool. The kids would have another Uncle, they’d love that.”

Dean couldn’t help a very tiny smirk at the thought, “Yeah. Someone else to spoil them.”

“Right,” Seth smirked, “I um, I noticed he didn’t bring that up at all. Sebby. Do you think your parents never told him?”

Dean shrugged, “Roman said he knows.”

“Maybe he felt like he’d be over stepping or something if he asked.”

“Maybe,” Dean answered, “I wonder what my parents told him about that.”

“Not that it matters. He didn’t believe them.”

“Yeah…” he trailed, as his mind started wandering.

Seth ran his fingertips up and down Dean’s side, “What else is going on in that head of yours?”

He swallowed, “Think that would have been me?”

“Huh?” Seth answered in confusion, “What’s that mean?”

“He never hit me, but do you think he eventually would have? If he would have never left?”

Seth’s stomach dropped when he realized that Dean was referring to his ex, “Dean…” he said almost in disbelief, “Look at me.”

It took him a second, but he turned his body so that he was facing Seth.

“You can’t worry about that kind of thing,” Seth started, wrapping his arm around him, “You searched for more info about him, didn’t you?”

Dean glanced down and nodded, “Yeah.”

“Baby, why?”

He shrugged, “Just…I don’t know.”

Seth sighed, “What did you find out?”

“Happened out of state,” he explained, looking back up at Seth, “He was arrested once for hurting his husband. When he got out, he went after him again, breaking his probation, and the restraining order so now he’s locked up for while.”

“Ok,” Seth said quietly, “Do you feel better that you know now?”

“I wonder,” He started, “I wonder if everything started with them, like it had started with me and him. Everything was great until a little bit after we were married. Then he just became a monster. I wonder if he tried to convince the guy to have a kid too.”

“Baby no…” Seth whispered, pulling Dean into his arms securely, “None of that’s important and it never will be, ok?”

His only response was choked sobs into Seth’s neck. Seth pulled the blankets up around them, creating a bundle of security while he cradled Dean in his arms. 

“Even if he did, it doesn’t matter. This is your life now, and he doesn’t have anything to do with it,” Seth reassured, “It’s just us now, ok? Just us, and the kids, and nothing else matters.”

Dean managed to nod, still clutching onto Seth like a lifeline. 

“Nothing from back then matters,” He reinforced, “You have so much now, so much that you’ve always wanted. The rest is gone.”

“E’vrything.” he choked into Seth.

Seth tilted his face up so that he was looking at him, “Hmm?”

“Everything,” he swallowed, “I have everything.”

Seth gave him a reassuring grin and wiped his cheeks, “So do I. I’m never letting anything happen to it either.”

Dean closed his eyes, gripping Seth’s side while trying to slow himself down. Seth quietly continued to reassure him that everything was alright. Pure exhaustion sent Dean to sleep right in Seth’s arms, bringing relief to Seth. If Dean needed anything at that moment it was rest in every sense of the word. 

 

***

[Thursday morning]

The sun hadn’t even come up yet when Seth emailed his boss and his students, canceling his classes for that day. He had only called out one time since he started at Neidhart. Today would make two. He knew he shouldn’t, not with it still being the beginning of the semester. But when he put his phone down and looked at Dean sleeping next to him, he knew it was the best choice.

Although Dean was sleeping soundly, it hadn’t been that way throughout the night. His dreams haunted him, waking him up in gasps and shaking multiple times. Seth felt helpless while he held Dean tightly against him and reassured him that everything was alright.

When Roman’s phone rang in the middle of the night, he already knew what was wrong. He was surprised that it was Seth calling and not Dean though. Seth explained everything to him, desperately seeking any advice Roman could give him. It was killing him inside to see Dean so miserable. Roman assured Seth that he was doing everything right.

Roman knew exactly where Dean was emotionally, even in his sleep. Countless times over the years, both Roman and Gemma helped him through these downfalls. It had been a LONG time, but Roman still knew that the main thing that Dean needed was support and to feel loved. 

During the phone call, Seth made the decision that he wouldn’t go to work. Roman agreed, and decided he’d call Rocco in the morning to let him know Dean wouldn’t be in either. If Roman had his way, he’d take the day off himself to stay with Dean and Seth. He let Seth know that sometimes when Dean’s mind spun out, the best thing he could do was rest. If not, he’d exhaust himself and be emotionally unbalanced. Apparently, that was the worst kind of Dean to experience. 

 

***

Once he got the kids out the door for school on Thursday morning, Seth spent the morning in bed with Dean, napping, checking emails, and grading papers. The TV flashed a Law and Order: SVU marathon, serving more of background noise than anything. Early in the afternoon, Dean started to stir and slowly woke up. 

Seth’s eyes opened as soon as he felt Dean move in his arms, “Hey,” he said softly, “Good morning.”

“What…” Dean’s voice cracked, looking around slightly confused.

“We took off work today,” Seth answered, giving him a kiss on his forehead, “How are you feeling?”

When Dean didn’t answer right away, Seth knew that his mind was processing everything over again, “I d-dunno,” he started, “I’m here…I think.”

“Good,” Seth answered with a confident grin, “I want you here.”

Dean could barely keep his eyes open, letting Seth know that he was still exhausted, “Baby, we can go back to sleep, but can you eat something for me first? Please?”

Dean groaned, “Not hungry.”

“At least have something to drink ok?” Seth replied, “You’ve been in bed for a pretty long time.”

He sighed but then agreed with Seth. Thankful, he got up and headed to the kitchen, returning shortly after with a Gatorade and a Lunchable.

“I know you’re not hungry,” Seth said, sitting down and handing him the Gatorade, “But just humor me ok?”

Dean saw the Lunchable and couldn’t help the small smile, “Did you bring me fruit snacks too?”

Seth glared playfully, pulling the plastic off the container and handing him a cracker with meat and cheese, “Eat.”

“Then can I go back to sleep?”

“Yes.”

 

***

 

Annabelle and Sebastian already knew that Dean hadn’t been feeling well. When they came home from school that afternoon, they were hoping that he was feeling better. Instead, they were brought into the living room with Seth to have a talk. Seth had a decision to make, and it wasn’t an easy one. How did he go about explaining to them what was really going on? In reality, he didn’t have to. He could just make something up. Something about doing it just didn’t sit well with him. Either way, he needed to start talking.

“We need to talk, ok?” Seth said, sitting down on the table in front of the kids. 

“About what?” Sebastian asked, both of them looking up at Seth.

Seth sighed to himself, and hoped that what he was about to say would make sense, “Papa’s still not feeling very well today,” Seth began, “He’s been laying upstairs, and he really needs to get some rest. Ok?”

“What’s wrong with him?” Sebastian asked, his eyes full of concern, “Is he sick?”

“Does he have a cold?” Annabelle asked, “Does his tummy hurt?”

“Does he need to go to the doctor?”

“Should we call Uncle Roman?”

“Woah,” Seth started after being bombed with medical questions, “He doesn’t need to go to the doctor,” Seth reassured them, “He, just um…” He stopped when Annabelle nudged Sebastian and said something quietly to him.

Sebastian shook his head and folded his arms, while Annabelle tried to reason with him. Seth of course, had no idea what they were saying to each other, and sat there with his eyebrows raised. Finally, Annabelle let out a small growl and looked to her Daddy, “He’s not sick, is he?”

Tears were now forming in Sebastian’s eyes while they both waited for Seth’s response. Seth completely threw away his original plan and tried to be as honest as he could with the kids, “Listen,” he said quietly, “You know how you guys can talk your own language? And you two are the only ones that understand it?”

They both nodded, “Yes.”

“Because you’re kids right? Grown ups don’t always understand kid stuff, right?”

“Right.”

Seth swallowed then continued, “It works both ways, ok? Sometimes there’s things that grown ups understand that kids don’t, and right now is one of those times. Your Papa just found out some bad news about someone he knew a long time ago. He’s a little upset, but he’s going to be fine ok?”

“What kind of bad news?” Annabelle asked.

“The kind that only grown ups understand. But he’s fine, he just needs to get some more sleep. Can you guys trust me about that?”

Sebastian mumbled something to Annabelle, and she gave him a sympathetic look before mumbling back to him.

“No secrets right now.” Seth said, raising his eyebrows at them.

Tears started to fall down Sebastian’s face, “I don’t want my Papa to be sad.” 

“Woah, woah,” Seth said, sliding over to the couch and pulling Sebastian into his arms, “Woah, Sebby there’s nothing to get upset about, I promise.”

Annabelle rubbed Sebastian’s back while he kept his head in Seth’s shoulder, “I just want him to be ok.”

“He’s ok,” Seth replied, “He just needs to rest ok?”

“My Daddy will make him feel better,” Annabelle reassured, “Don’t worry Sebby.”

Seth smiled at her, still holding Sebastian securely in his arms, “You ok babe?”

Sebastian nodded, “Yes.”

“Do you guys understand what’s going on?”

Both of them nodded, “Mr. Dean just needs to get some rest. Then he’ll feel better, right?” Annabelle asked.

Seth nodded, “Right.”

“You promise?” Sebastian asked, looking at Seth.

“I promise,” He answered, “Nothing for you to worry about, ok?”

He nodded, “Thank you for taking care of him.”

“I’ll always take care of him,” He smiled, “And both of you too. Ok?”

They both smiled and nodded, before Seth looked at the time, “I know two kids that have to get ready for soccer practice.”

Gasping, Annabelle and Sebastian’s eyes shot wide, “Oh my gosh!” Annabelle exclaimed, “Are we late?!”

“Not yet,” Seth replied, “Aunt Gemma is taking you, she’ll be here soon though ok?”

“Ok!” Sebastian said excitedly, before giving Seth a hug, “I love you.”

“I love you too!” Annabelle giggled, jumping on to them.

Seth smiled, hugging on to them, “I love you guys too.”

Sebastian and Annabelle had quickly gone upstairs and changed into their practice uniforms. They quietly packed up their bags and began creeping towards the steps as to not wake up Dean. Both of them stopped when they got in front of Dean’s bedroom door. They shared a small exchange, before putting their bags down and silently entering the room. 

Dean woke up when he felt the kids engulfing him in their tiny embraces. He couldn’t help smiling and rolling to his back, pulling both of them down in his chest, “Hey.” he said hoarsely, hugging onto them.

“Papa how are you feeling?” Sebastian asked, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

He let out a small groan and then smirked at his son, “Better.”

“Good.” Annabelle replied, giving a kiss to Dean’s other cheek.

Dean turned to her, “You guys ready for soccer?”

“Yup.” She answered, cuddling into him closer.

Closing his eyes, Dean couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face, “What are you guys making for dinner?”

“We’re not making dinner!” Sebastian giggled.

“Why not?” Dean teased.

“Guys!” Seth called up the steps, “Time to go!”

“Uh oh,” Annabelle said, picking her head up, “Gotta go.”

Dean gave them both a hug and kiss, and watched as they bolted from the room excitedly.  

When Seth came upstairs a few minutes later, he heard the shower running. A pinch of relief ran through him, knowing Dean was finally functional on all levels again.  Quietly, he snuck into the bathroom, his clothes being discarded as he neared the shower. 

“HEY!”  Dean giggled, when Seth poked at the shower curtain.

Seth smiled, climbing inside and wrapping Dean up from behind, “Feel ok?” He asked, helping him wash the soap suds from his arms and chest.

“Mmmmm,” he hummed, letting Seth's touch take away every last piece of uncertainty inside of him.  

“I'll take that as a yes.” Seth smiled, leaving wet kisses on Dean's neck.

Dean had no idea how Seth could fix everything the way he did.  Just how he held him while he slept made his restless night almost bearable.  Seth didn't ask questions, he didn't push him to talk, he was just Seth. He listened, he held him and he reminded him of the big picture that was their life.  Now, Dean was soaping him up, wanting him so badly and knowing he didn’t even have to vocalize it. 

That's how they ended up in bed, Dean on his back while Seth nipped a trail up his body to his lips, “Need to talk,” he murmured against his lips, “Later.”

“Later,” Dean breathed, “Just…please.”

“Please what?” Seth asked, although he had a pretty strong idea.

“Make me forget,” he swallowed, “Everything, just, please…”

Seth rested his forehead against Dean’s, “Whatever you want baby.”

“Want…” he panted, “You.”

Seth smirked, brushing his lips over Dean’s and leaving small kisses in between. Playfully, he slid his hands down Dean’s arms and lifted his hands up above his head onto the pillow. He held them there with one hand then bent in for another kiss. When he felt Dean tense up, he immediately froze. 

“Baby what’s wrong?” Seth asked in a whisper.

“Don’t do that,” He said back, voice just as low, “Please.”

Seth was taken off guard, unsure where the sudden uneasiness came from. Either way, it didn’t matter, that was a conversation for later. Gently, Seth placed soft kisses on the inside of Dean’s wrists and down both of his arms. Dean let out a small sigh, his tenseness subsiding while he melted into Seth. 

“Love you,” Seth murmured just outside of Dean’s ear, kissing his way back over to Dean’s lips, “So fucking much,” he continued, giving him a small kiss.

“ ‘ve you too….” Was all the Dean was able to get out as a response.

Seth smiled to himself, then slowly began crawling down Dean’s body. He ran his tongue over every last ripple of Dean’s upper body, raking his fingers down with him. Dean let out a hiss, arching his back slightly and whimpering out, “T-tease.”

“Just wait.” Seth answered, licking a line down to Dean’s achingly hard cock. 

Seth teasingly left small licks over his leaking head, while popping open the lube that they had at some point thrown on the bed. Dean gripped the bed sheets, small whimpers escaping his mouth while Seth worked him open. He fell apart almost instantly, surrendering fully to whatever Seth wanted with him. 

What Seth wanted? Seth wanted Dean to forget every single thing on the planet but them. He wanted Dean to roll his eyes back, scream Seth’s name, and come apart for him. Things couldn’t be that easy though.

Seth still had no full idea of what haunted Dean’s dreams the night before. But just knowing Dean’s body, and the small hesitations that Seth felt through him, told him enough. When he crawled over Dean, panting and rubbing his hard on against him, he saw it in Dean’s eyes. It wasn’t fear, but it wasn’t his usual confidence either. 

“C’mere.” Seth whispered into his ear, rolling to his back and pulling Dean on top of him.

Dean gasped, but didn’t hesitate to slid down on Seth’s slick and waiting cock, “Jeeezusss….” Seth cried out, Dean moaning while he got himself adjusted.

“You good baby?” Seth breathed, slowing starting moving upward into him.

“Goddddd yesssssss.” Dean panted, eyes screwed shut and biting at his bottom lip.

Seth reached for him, pulling him down against his chest and connecting their lips. Seth held him as tightly as he could, letting him know that he was safe from the world. No one was ever going to change that either. 

 

***

 

The afterglow went to another shower, before both of them climbed back into bed together. It was inevitable that Dean was going to have to do a little bit of explaining, and Seth didn’t rush him. He laid patiently on his back, holding Dean snug his in his chest while dropping kisses on his forehead. 

After what felt like an eternity, Dean cleared his throat, “I’m sorry.” 

“Sorry for what?” Seth asked softly, nudging his head up so they were facing each other. 

Dean kept his body halfway on top of Seth’s while he looked up at his boyfriend, “Putting you through this.” he replied in a small whisper.

Seth sighed, running his hand over Dean’s head, “You don’t have to apologize baby. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I kept you up all night.”

“I got some sleep,” He replied, “Baby it’s ok and I need for you to see that. You had a lot thrown at you yesterday, and it was clearly too much. That’s ok, it happens. It made you start thinking about things, and remembering things and that’s a lot for a person to deal with.”

“Are you sure?”

Seth nodded, “Yes, I’m sure.”

Dean swallowed, “I-I- my head just went somewhere for awhile.”

“I know, it’s ok. Baby trust me, everything you found out yesterday was incredibly overwhelming, ok? Of course it’s going to send you off somewhere that you don’t want to be. It’s a LOT. But it’s ok, everything’s alright, I promise. You believe me?”

He nodded, “Yeah.”

“I just,” Seth paused, “I have some questions, but only if you’re ok to answer them.”

“I’m ok,” he answered in confidence, not out of obligation, “It’s ok.”

“You sure?” Seth asked, giving him a small kiss.

“Yes.”

Seth left a kiss on his forehead then asked, “What kept you up all night?”

“Everything,” he replied, “Mostly him. Just…arguing and yelling, and I would wake up and I could still hear him in my head.”

Swallowing down the emotions that were ready to explode, Seth calmly asked, “Him holding you too tight?”

“How’d,” Dean paused and studied his boyfriend’s face, “How did you know that?”

Instead of answering, Seth reached for Dean’s hand and brought it up to his lips. He dropped a couple of long kisses on his wrist, and then looked back to Dean. 

“You…” he stopped and swallowed back his forming tears, “You knew that? How did you know?”

“Because for the first time ever, you asked me not to do something,” Seth explained, “You’ve never been hesitant with me in bed since the first day. With everything going on yesterday, it just made sense as to what was wrong. That you didn’t want to feel held down, and why.”

Dean swallowed, “I’m so--”

Seth cut him off with a kiss, not allowing him to finish his un needed apology. They both completely froze when they heard the unmistakable sound of giggling.

“Shit.” Dean gasped, wide eyed.

The giggling wasn’t coming from in the house though, it was definitely outside. Then Gemma’s voice echoed in the hallway, “Hey up there!”

“Shit!” They both exclaimed in half chuckles, scrambling for clothes. 

Dean was first to get out of the bedroom and look down the stairs at her, “What?!” he smiled.

“I’ve been calling you guys for an hour,” She replied, arching her eyebrow while balancing two bags full of Chinese take out, “Get some soap and meet us in the backyard!”

“Wait, what?” Seth asked, walking up behind Dean.

Gemma smiled, “Just do it ok? Trust me.”

“Oh no,” Dean said, his face falling, “They didn’t.”

“Oh, they did.”

 

***

 

Armed with soap, shampoo and bath towels, Dean and Seth made their way outside. Seth had no idea what he was in for, while Dean was fearing the biggest mess known to man. Annabelle and Sebastian were standing in the grass, being sprayed down with the garden hose by Gemma. Annabelle was still in compression shorts and a tank top while she giggled away under the spray. Sebastian ran around in his shorts, while Rylan tried to keep him under control. Both of their muddy blue and black practice uniforms had already been sprayed off and hung over the bench.

“What the…?” Seth started, trying to assess the situation in front of him.

“Muddy day at practice.” Tatum giggled. 

“Sebby you even have mud in your hair?!” Dean exclaimed, handing the shampoo to Gemma and grabbing on to his soaked son, “Get over here.” He chuckled, making Sebastian giggle more.

“She’s got it in hers too,” Gemma replied, while she soaped up Annabelle’s hair with shampoo, “They had a LOT of puddles.”

“I see that,” Seth smiled, shaking his head at his daughter, “Just had to get dirty, didn’t you?”

Annabelle giggled, “I didn’t mean it!”

“They both scored a goal though.” Gemma pointed out.

“AWESOME.” Dean smiled, helping Rylan scrub Sebastian down.

“I never took a shower in a backyard before!” Annabelle said, while Gemma rinsed out her hair.

“Hopefully you won’t have to ever again.” Seth replied.

“Fat chance,” Tatum replied, “I still get covered in mud and I’m almost 15.”

“Yeah but we stopped hosing you down once you were around ten,” Dean chuckled, while they rinsed Sebastian off, “Then you were on your own.”

When Annabelle was done, Seth wrapped her up in one of the towels and picked her up, “Looks like you had fun.”

She smiled, “I did! I really like soccer!”

“It’s the best!” Sebastian added, as Dean finished wrapping him up. 

“You two,” Dean smirked, kissing Sebastian’s forehead, “Go upstairs and change. Leave all of these wet clothes in the bathtub ok?”

“Ok!” They replied in unison.

They wiggled out of their parents embrace, and headed inside of the house. They passed Roman on the way, who now stood in the door way staring at his family, “I don’t miss muddy practices.”

Gemma smirked, “Get used to them again.”

Roman rolled his eyes, “Great.”

***

“You guys are going on a cruise?” Seth asked Roman and Gemma.

At the kitchen island, the adults sat eating their dinner and Seth had just discovered Roman and Gemma’s Valentines plans.

“I didn’t tell you?” Dean asked, looking innocently at his boyfriend.

Seth smiled and rolled his eyes, “Clearly not.”

“They go every year for Valentine’s Day,” Dean explained to him, “So the kids are going to be here while they’re gone.”

“Live-in babysitters.” Seth smiled.

“Hey! I see you over there!” Dean said, looking over a the table where the kids were eating, “Stop sword fighting with your chop sticks!” 

Sebastian and Annabelle immediately started giggling, putting their chopsticks down in exchange for forks.

“Don’t even think about using the egg rolls either.” Roman shot.

“We’re not!” They both replied.

Tatum looked at her brother, “One entire week of this.”

He smiled, “I can’t wait.”

***

 

“Sebby I think you should read with me.”

Sebastian frowned from where he sat on his bed, “I hate reading.”

“I know,” Annabelle answered sympathetically, looking down at him from her bed, “And I hate math. But we have to learn. If you don’t practice and get better, you’ll get more frowny faces on your work. Then you’ll get in trouble and I don’t want you to.”

He sighed and gave her a half glare, knowing she was right, “But I feel stupid when I read.”

“But you’re not stupid.”

His cheeks flushed a bit before he asked, “Do you promise not to laugh at me when I mess up?”

Giving him a reassuring smile she nodded, “Yup, I promise. Now go pick a book.”

“Ok,” he answered, climbing up and investigating his book shelves, “How about this one?” he asked, holding up ‘Wacky Wednesday’.

“Ok!” She replied, going down the sliding board and springing onto Sebastian’s bed.

He climbed onto the bed next to her and opened the book. 

“Follow what you’re reading with your finger, k?” Annabelle instructed.

Sebastian did as she said and slowly began, “It…all be…began with a shoe on that wall. A shoe on the wall? Sho…should….shouldn’t be there at all.”

“See?” Annabelle smiled.

“But I messed up.” He frowned.

She shrugged, “Read it over again until you do it without messing up.”

He looked back at the book, determined to get it right this time, “Ok. Here goes.”

***

Although Seth and Dean had spent a significant amount of their day in bed, they both felt drained.  Dean blamed Seth, claiming that he wiped him out during their hot afternoon sex. Seth blamed Dean, claiming the same excuse.  Regardless, it turned into a sweet make out session on the couch, with jokes and whispers about what would go on after the kids were asleep.  Before that even happened, a certain conversation needed to take place.

***

“Perfect!” Seth and Dean heard Annabelle exclaim, as they walked down the hallway towards Sebastian’s room.

“I dunno,” Sebastian replied, closing the book, “Are you sure?”

“Yep, I’m sure.”

“You promise right?”

“I promise.”

“What’s going on in here?” Dean asked, entering the room with Seth behind him.

“Reading stuff.” Sebastian answered quietly.

Dean flopped onto the bed, laying on his stomach, “Oh yeah?” he asked, taking ‘Wacky Wednesday’ from them, “This is a good one.”

“It’s silly.” Annabelle smiled, as Seth sat on the bed next to her. 

Sebastian nodded, “Really silly.”

Dean looked at his son, “You doing better reading?”

He shrugged, as Annabelle answered for him, “He is.”

Dean knew about the struggles Sebastian was having with reading that year. He knew that part of it was how nervous Sebastian got when having to read out loud. It made him hate reading all together after that point. Dean was considering getting Sebastian extra help in school, but still wasn’t sure if he wanted to take that route. It would disrupt his normal class routine, and possibly cause some un needed embarrassment. 

Poking at Sebastian’s side, Dean smiled, “Good.”

Both kids giggled before Annabelle asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Much better now,” He replied, giving her a wink, “SO much better, that now we have to talk to you guys about something.”

“You do?” They asked.

Dean sat up and smirked, “Yup. Very important stuff too.”

“Like what?!” 

“Shortcake, I have a question for you ok?” Seth started.

“Ok.” She answered, looking up at him.

“If it was only a few minutes away, how would you feel about moving?”

Annabelle was surprised at her Dad’s question and shrugged a little, “I don’t know.”

“Don’t move!” Sebastian exclaimed in a small panic, “Please don’t move away!”

“Woah, Sebby,” Dean said, pulling him into his lap, “Relax dude, it’s alright. They won’t be going far if they move.”

“Where are we going?” Annabelle asked her dad. 

Seth gave her a small smirk, “Here.”

Both Annabelle and Sebastian gasped, “Really?!”

Dean and Seth weren’t sure if their unison response was a good thing or not, “Yeah, really,” Dean replied, “But we need to know what you guys think first.”

Annabelle looked at Seth with confusion on her face, “But you said we were done moving.”

“I know I did,” Seth sighed, “But this time it’s super close, not hours and hours like last time. So it’s almost like we’re not even really moving.”

“And you can pick whichever one of the empty bedrooms that you want to be as yours.” Dean said with a small smile.

Her eyes widened, “Really?!”

“She’s not going to sleep in here anymore?” Sebastian asked with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Yikes.” Seth said under his breath. That wasn’t something he and Dean took into deep consideration. 

“Well that’s kind of up to you guys,” Dean replied, “I just think that Annabelle should have her own room, and so should you. If you guys wanna have sleepovers that’s fine too.”

He shrugged, “Can Annabelle have bunk beds too, so I can sleep in her room sometimes?”

Dean and Seth looked at each other and then back to the kids, “We can try and work something out.” Dean answered.

“Ok.” They answered.

“Any other questions?” Seth asked.

“When are we moving?” Annabelle replied.

“Not entirely sure yet,” Seth answered, “Soon though.”

“Real soon?” Sebastian asked, wide eyed.

Dean couldn’t help smiling to Seth before answering, “Yes. Real soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....how do we feel about everything? Let me know! :)


	22. Seven Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the week of Roman and Gemma's cruise, and there's not a single dull moment involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This one's a lot, so grab a snack and enjoy!!!
> 
>  
> 
> **Shouts to: TheBohoFemme, Moxley_Mox018, and kl125 for the proof reads, ideas and their general awesome existence!**

“Are you ready?!” Sebastian asked Annabelle, his eyes wide with excitement.

“Uh huh!” She squealed in anticipation, gripping a small box of her stuffed animals.

Here they were on their very first day of officially living together. Annabelle had chosen which spare bedroom she wanted weeks ago. Little did she or Seth know, that Dean and Gemma began a top secret project inside. Sebastian couldn’t keep a secret to save his life, especially one of this caliber. He had only just found out about the surprise on that day and needless to say, he was beside himself.

“You going to let her in?” Dean smirked to Sebastian, who was still holding the handle of the closed bedroom door.

“Should I be scared?” Seth teased.

Sebastian smiled at Annabelle and opened the door, both of them walking in at the same time, “Surprise!” Sebastian exclaimed.

Annabelle’s eyes widened as she looked around in amazement at her new bedroom. It was entirely Wizard of Oz themed, with sky blue walls and life sized decals of the characters with Emerald City in the background and of course, a giant rainbow. The ceiling was light blue with clouds painted on it, perfect for Annabelle to look up at from her new set of bunk beds. The exact same style as Sebastian’s, but white, matching her dresser and bookcase. The bed set was Wizard of Oz printed, and from the ledge on the bay window, her stuffed Wizard of Oz dolls and plush were smiling at her. Finally, of course there was a Yellow Brick Road, painted on the hardwood floor, leading up to the wall with the decals.

The box of stuffed animals dropped from Annabelle’s hands as she tried to absorb everything, “This,” she stuttered, “This-this-is-my-mine?”

“Well,” Dean replied with a smirk, “If you want it.”

Annabelle’s head snapped towards Seth, “DADDY!” she exclaimed in excitement, “LOOK!”

Seth was in just as much shock as his daughter was. Somehow he managed to walk over and scoop her into his arms, “It’s awesome! Do you love it?!”

Still looking around in amazement, she managed to spit out, “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah it is!” Seth smiled, “Wow Dean and Aunt Gemma can do some magic, huh?”

She nodded and then looked to Dean, “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” He smiled back, “Is there anything you don’t like? You can tell me, I won’t be mad.”

Annabelle shook her head, “No way!” 

He chuckled and then motioned to the bed, “You have a bed in here, just like Sebby’s, but if you want to sleep in his room that’s ok too.”

“Sebby will you sleep in here tonight?!” She asked, as Seth put her down.

Sebastian folded his arms and sighed, “If you want me to.”

“You have a bed too!” She exclaimed, pointing to the top bunk.

“I know,” He replied, “But I don’t like the Wizard of Oz.”

“Pssst,” Dean hissed to his son, “Grumpy pants. Go climb up there.”

Sebastian looked at him confused, “Ok.”

Once he was on the top bunk, he let out a laugh and a half scream. His sheet set was blue, to match the bedroom theme, but it was soccer printed.

“Ok?” Dean asked with a smirk.

Sebastian couldn’t help grinning to his Papa, “Ok!” 

***

Although Sebastian would be sleeping in her new room with her, Annabelle still felt a little nervous. It was the most beautiful room in the world to her, but it was also very new. This room was at the front of the house, where Sebastian’s was at the back of the house. This meant a lot of new noises that she wasn’t familiar with. 

“Daddy?” Annabelle asked quietly.

Seth and Dean had just gotten done reading them a story and were tucking them into bed, “Yeah baby?”

“Um…” 

That’s all it took for Seth and Dean to know. Seth laid down facing her, while Dean sat up next to her. Sebastian was already knocked out asleep, or he would have been right in the middle of them.

“Just relax,” Seth smiled to his daughter, “This is kind of new for us, you know? I mean, I know we’re here all the time, but it’s a little different now, right?”

She nodded, “Uh huh.”

“It’s just going to take a little bit of getting used to ok? Let’s try it in here for a couple of nights, and if you don’t like it, you can sleep in Sebby’s room, ok?”

Dean leaned over and kissed her on the side of her head, “It’s ok Shortcake, I’d be a little nervous too if I were you.”

Annabelle turned over and looked at him, “Really?”

“Sure,” He replied, “I mean, it’s all SO new. Of course I’d be nervous. There’s nothing wrong with that. You just have to get used to it, and this is how you do it. I promise, tomorrow morning you’re going to wake up and think you’re in Emerald City, and you’re going to love it, ok?”

She smiled, “Ok.”

“Feel better?” Seth asked with a smirk.

Annabelle nodded and turned back to her dad, “Can you stay in here, just a minute?”

“How about two minutes?” Dean asked.

Annabelle giggled, “Ok.”

***

“Hello in here!” Tatum’s voice echoed through the house.

“Kitchen!” Dean called back.

It was Sunday evening, the kids were in their pajamas and sitting at the kitchen table with Seth and Dean. A very fierce game of “Candy Land” was going on between the four of them, in place of a bedtime story that night.

“Hi!” Tatum smiled, as she came into the kitchen with Rylan behind her.

“HI!” Sebastian and Annabelle exclaimed, both of them jumping from their chairs to give the older kids a hug.

Monday morning Roman and Gemma would be leaving for their cruise. It was decided that the easiest option would be to drop Tatum and Rylan off the night before.

“Hey!” Gemma smiled, walking in with Roman, “What’s going on?”

“We’re playing Candy Land!” Sebastian smiled.

“Wow, that game still exists?” Roman asked.

“Uh-huh yup!” Annabelle replied.

Just as Gemma was about to give Dean an earful of information that he already knew, he spoke first, “I know, I know,” he started, “Bus stop by 7:00 and 7:30. Rylan has basketball practice until 5 on Monday and Thursday, he has a game on Wednesday at 3:30. Tatum has soccer Tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday right after school until 5:30.”

“Make sure Rylan takes his allergy medicine every day,” Seth continued, “Both of them off their phones and ipads by 9:00 on school nights, double check Rylan’s English homework, make sure Tatum is caught up on her reading and her History project, no friends over unless homework is done, and no boys ever at all.”

Roman and Gemma’s jaws dropped at the same time, while Tatum and Rylan tried to contain their laughter, “Yeah ok, so we’ll be leaving now.” Roman chuckled.

“Have fun!”

***

Things had been running smoothly into mid-week. On Thursday though, things decided to get a little complicated. A lot of complicated. It started when Sebastian and Annabelle were getting ready for school that morning. Just as they were about to walk out the door, Sebastian bent down to get his backpack. As he did, the dreaded sound of his shorts ripping was heard loudly.

“Uh oh.” Annabelle said with her eyes wide.

“Yikes.” Dean chuckled.

Sebastian stood back up and frowned, “Did they rip?”

Dean turned his son around and confirmed that his shorts had split, “I keep telling you that we need to buy new shorts for you. You never want to go.”

Sebastian shrugged and then sighed, “I’ll be back.”

“Um,” Annabelle started, pointing out the front door, “There goes the bus.”

Dean looked up to see the school bus riding by, “Well, that’s just lovely.”

“Dean?” Seth called, walking down the steps into the living room. He was half dressed in khaki pants and a t-shirt, “What happened?”

“Sebby split his shorts,” Dean replied, rolling his eyes a little, “So I’ll be the school bus today.”

Annabelle giggled a little and then asked, “Will you walk us to our classroom?”

Dean shrugged, “Sure, why not?”

***

Annabelle’s innocent request seemed fun at first, but unfortunately for her and Sebastian, it didn’t stay that way. A couple hours into their school day, their teacher Miss LeRae put the class into small groups. They were to all work together coloring in words on a Valentine’s Day activity. 

As most of the kids quietly chatted while they colored, a kid in the same group as Annabelle and Sebastian decided not to be as nice. Benny Owens was notorious for causing problems in class. Today was clearly no exception. 

“Hey Annabelle.” Benny said in a nasty tone.

Annabelle looked up, confused as to why -he- was talking to her, “Yeah?”

“How come you gave Sebastian’s dad a kiss on the cheek this morning?” He asked, “He’s not your dad, that’s gross.”

The other kids in their group looked up at her, some of them snickering, other’s not understanding what was going on.

Annabelle was pink, while Sebastian’s nostrils flared, “Because my Papa is her Daddy’s boyfriend so she’s allowed to if she wants!”

“Ew!” Benny exclaimed.

When Sebastian stood up and shoved Benny out of his seat, Annabelle screamed and began to cry. Miss LeRae immediately separated both boys, as another teacher, Miss Catanzaro rushed in after hearing Annabelle’s scream in the hall. Sebastian was livid, screaming at his teacher about what Benny had said. Miss LeRae was devastated by what she was told, and angered that some of her students were even laughing along.

Miss Catanzaro was trying her best to calm Annabelle, “How about we go see Miss Morgan ok?”

Annabelle nodded, “Can Seb come too?”

“Sure.”

***

Miss Morgan was without a doubt the most popular and loved member of the school faculty. She was one of the school’s Guidance Counselors, her specialty was to help kids with solving their problems. Sometimes steps needed to be taken that were out of her reach, but she loved her students and their well being was her number one priority. Her pink hair was something that the students loved, and of course they also loved the giant jar of blue Jolly Ranchers in her office.

Annabelle was still sniffling when her and Sebastian were brought into Miss Morgan’s office. They sat down on the couch quietly, while Miss Morgan talked to Miss Catanzaro about what happened. Something about being is Miss Morgan’s office made everything better. She had the coolest pictures on her walls, a couch, a fluffy pink chair, her desk was really cool and held fun little knick knacks. One wall held her credentials all framed, and another had a bookshelf with books, magazines and stuffed animals. 

When the door closed, Miss Morgan walked over and scooted the pink fluffy chair over so that she was sitting in front of both kids, “Ok guys,” she started softly, “You wanna tell me what happened in class?”

“Are we in trouble?” Annabelle sniffled.

Miss Morgan shook her head, “No Sweetie. I just need to know what happened, so we can try and figure out what to do about it, ok?”

Annabelle nodded, and between her and Sebastian, the story was told to Miss Morgan.

“Oh my gosh,” Miss Morgan said sympathetically, “What Benny did was NOT acceptable at ALL. Miss LeRae and I will make sure that it’s taken care of. Ok?”

“Uh huh.” They answered in unison.

“Let me ask you guys a question,” she started, “How long have your Papa and your Daddy been boyfriends?”

“Since like Halloween,” Sebastian replied, “They zinged.”

Miss Morgan smiled, “Like on Hotel Transylvania?”

“Uh-huh, yup.” Annabelle answered.

“Well that’s pretty cool!” She grinned, getting smiles back from both of them, “It only happens once in your life, right?”

“Yup!” Sebastian answered.

“That’s perfect then,” She replied, “And how long have you guys been living together?”

“Since Saturday.” Sebastian replied.

“That sounds so fun you guys,” She said, “Does Miss LeRae know that?”

“No.” Annabelle answered.

“Should she?” Sebastian asked.

“Well, she doesn’t HAVE to know. It’s not a rule or anything like that. But a lot of teachers like to know about everyone’s parents. Whether they’re married, or not married, or if they’re boyfriends, or if they have two mommy’s, or if they’re divorced. Things like that can help us when our students are having trouble in school.”

“Really?” Annabelle asked.

“Yep,” Miss Morgan replied, “All of my kids that I’m responsible for, I know about their parents. Some of them I had to write down so I remember. But now since I know about your Daddy’s, I also know right away that I can call both of them if I need to.”

“Ohhhhhh.” Sebastian replied.

“Exactly,” She smirked, “But for you, Sebastian, we have to do something about your temper. I know that you were upset today, but you can’t get physical like that.”

He sighed, “It just made me so mad.”

“I know it did,” She replied, “But we need to think up some way to handle it better, don’t you think?”

“I guess.” He mumbled.

“How do your other friends handle things like this? Do they get mad?” She asked.

“Um,” Annabelle started, “We don’t have lots of other friends.”

“Just us.” Sebastian added.

Miss Morgan looked at them confused, “So neither one of you have friends that you play with? No one who’s house you go to?”

“Tatum and Rylan,” Sebastian replied, “But they’re older than us.”

“Noah comes over to play.” Annabelle said.

“Noah Balor?” Miss Morgan smiled.

“Yeah.” They both answered.

“He has two Daddy’s, right?” 

“Yeah,” Annabelle replied, “They’re really nice, they hang out with our Dads and they come to dinner with us and stuff.”

“Do you ever ask him what he does if people pick on him?” She asked.

Both of them gave her blank looks, “Kids pick on him?” Annabelle asked, completely astonished.

Miss Morgan knew that Noah did in fact get picked on. He had been in her office many times in similar situations as Annabelle and Sebastian. 

“How about this?” Miss Morgan asked as she stood up, “How about I go get him, and we can talk to him about it?”

“You can do that?!” Sebastian asked.

Miss Morgan smiled and clicked her tongue, “I can do whatever I want.”

Both kids giggled, and then waited patiently after Miss Morgan left the room. She returned shortly with Noah Balor in tow, “Hi guys,” He smiled, “Wow I thought I was in trouble.”

Miss Morgan smirked and closed the door, “Nah. Trouble doesn’t come to my office.”

Noah hopped on the couch with Sebastian and Annabelle, “What’s going on?”

Miss Morgan sat back on the fluffy chair, and proceeded to explain to Noah what was going on. To Annabelle and Sebastian’s complete shock, Noah had his fair share of stories to tell them. He told them about how hard it is to ignore a bully, but it’s the best thing that they can do. He also let Sebastian know that even though he’s angry, it’s still not right to try and hurt someone. Words were not a reason to risk getting yourself hurt, or someone else. 

“How would you guys feel if I gave you some fun homework?” Miss Morgan asked Sebastian and Annabelle.

“There’s no such thing.” Sebastian replied.

Annabelle looked at him, “Let her tell us at least.”

“Ok fine.”

“You, Mr. Ambrose,” She smirked at Sebastian, “Need to write something for me. I want you to make me a list of three things that make you angry. Then I want you to write three things that you can do to calm down. It can be taking a walk, it can be singing a song, it can be hugging your Papa. Anything that you can think of. Ok?”

He thought for a second, not expecting her to give him such an odd homework assignment, “Ok I can do that.”

“Good,” She smiled, before looking at Annabelle, “Annabelle, I want you to write me two things that you can do when someone is being mean to you. Pretend that Sebastian isn’t going to be there, and you have to do it yourself ok?”

She nodded, “Ok, I can do that.”

“Then, I want you to list three things that you LOVE about living at Sebastian’s house now.”

“Ok!” She giggled.

“But for both of you,” She started, “I want you guys to TRY and make some more friends. It’s very important to make friends and know more people.”

“Um,” Sebastian replied, “We’ll try.”

“I have some cool friends,” Noah offered, “You can meet them at lunch time.”

“See?” Miss Morgan asked, “It’s that easy.”

“Ok,” Annabelle replied, “We’ll do it.”

“Great,” She smiled, “So do you guys feel better, can we head back to class now?”

“I don’t wanna.” Annabelle replied with a small frown.

“What if I go to class with you, and hang out with you there for awhile?” She offered.

“Yes!” 

Miss Morgan took Annabelle and Sebastian with her to walk Noah back to class. He was in the third grade which was on a different side of the school, totally to Annabelle and Sebastian’s amazement.

“Who is your teacher?” Sebastian asked.

“Mr. Ciampa.” Noah replied.

“He’s got a goldfish in his classroom, right?” Annabelle asked.

“Yup,” Noah replied, “His name is Goldie.”

She giggled, “Goldie the Goldfish. How silly.”

“Mr. Ciampa’s silly alright.” Miss Morgan smiled, as they got to his classroom.

Noah promised to meet up with Annabelle and Sebastian during lunchtime before he headed inside. They waved him off, then trekked back to the 1st graders side of the school. The entire class gasped when Miss Morgan entered with Annabelle and Sebastian.

“Hi Miss Morgan!” Echoed around the room at least 5 times. 

“Hi guys,” She smiled, walking Annabelle and Sebastian to their seats, “Miss LeRae do you mind if I hang out for awhile?”

Miss LeRae smiled back, relieved that Sebastian and Annabelle were ok, “Stay as long as you’d like.”

The kids in the class were in envy of Annabelle and Sebastian at that moment. The coolest adult in the school was sitting with them, looking over their work while they caught up with what they missed. Annabelle was in the middle of adding on her worksheet when she felt a nudge on her arm. She looked over and was handed a folded piece of paper by the girl next to her, Amelia Alexander.

Annabelle unfolded it and read it to herself, “Dear Annabelle. I am sorry that you are sad. I hope you feel better. Love, Amelia” . 

Smiling, Annabelle turned to her and whispered, “Thanks.”

Amelia smiled back, before both girls went back to their worksheets.

***

When Dean got the phone call from Miss Morgan that afternoon, his heart crashed to the floor. Suddenly, Dean wasn’t standing in the office of his restaurant anymore. He was by himself, in a strange world while he listened to Miss Morgan explaining the situation to him. Dean’s chest tightened and tears were threatening, knowing what the kids were subjected to that morning.

“I want to come get them.” He managed to get out.

Miss Morgan assured him that both Annabelle and Sebastian were ok and back in class. She let him know that she had sat with them, and everything was going smoothly again. When she mentioned that Noah Balor had helped out, Dean actually started to feel himself breathing again. Miss Morgan was fantastic at her job, Dean had known since Sebastian started at that school. He trusted that she would know what was best for the kids that day, and he went with her suggestion. 

She also talked to him for a few minutes on how to address the situation with the kids once they got home that day. When the call ended, Dean leaned back against the wall, lightly banging his head against it. He knew that at some point or points in their lives, the kids were going to be subjected to that kind of shit. He just really didn’t want it to be when they were six years old. 

***

“Why can’t there be an instruction manual for this?” Seth growled, pacing around the kitchen. 

He had just gotten home from work that afternoon, and immediately found out from Dean what had happened. Now, his dark blue polo shirt was un tucked and he had adjusted his hair bun at least three times while he paced.

“I don’t know baby,” Dean sighed, “I wish there was.”

Seth looked up at the clock, “We gotta go.”

When Noah Balor got up at his bus stop, he smiled to Annabelle and Sebastian, “Call me later if you want to, ok?”

They both smiled, “Ok!”

There was a big surprise waiting when the bus dropped Sebastian and Annabelle off at their stop. When they spotted Dean standing with Seth, they both squealed in excitement. Thursday was Dean’s late day at work, not usually getting home until dinnertime. Today he was there, shooting Annabelle and Sebastian into sky high excitement.

Once in the door with backpacks dropped and lunch boxes on the counter, Dean brought the kids into the living room. They flopped onto the couch, while Dean and Seth sat down on the edge of the coffee table so they could face them.

Taking a deep breath, Dean began, “Miss Morgan called today. She said that school was a little, um…” he stopped abruptly, losing his words. 

“Weird,” Seth finished, raising his eyebrow at the kids in hopes of keeping them on the calmer side, “Some kids were being weird, right?”

Sebastian smirked while Annabelle nodded, “Really mean too.”

Seth did an exaggerated eye roll, “Mean kids are so annoying.”

“They are!” Sebastian replied, while Annabelle nodded again, “Uh-huh, YUP!”

Dean was at a total loss for words while he continued to listen to Seth. Seth reached over and held his hand before he continued, “When kids are mean like that, it’s because they want attention. When they are mean, EVERYONE pays attention to them.”

“Ohhhhh.” Came a unison replied from both kids.

“Sometimes other kids will laugh too,” Seth explained, “Did that happen today?”

Sebastian nodded, “Yeah, it did.”

“They got into SOOOO much trouble,” Annabelle said wide eyed, “They had to go to the Principal’s office!”

Seth’s eyes widened, “The Principal’s office? No way! That’s some serious trouble!”

Sebastian nodded, “Serious trouble.”

Seth smirked a little before continuing, “The best thing you can do is ignore them. When you do that, they aren’t getting attention. If they’re not getting attention, they aren’t getting what they want.”

“That’s what Noah told us,” Sebastian replied, “That’s what he does when kids try to pick on him.”

“He’s exactly right,” Seth agreed, “So from now on, we’ll try to do that first ok? Before shoving people out of their chairs.”

Sebastian sighed, “Ok.”

“Tatum didn’t punch the mean girl until the mean girl pushed her first, right?” Annabelle asked.

“Exactly,” Seth replied, “You don’t ever hit someone unless they’re trying to first, ok?”

“He was so mean though,” Sebastian frowned, “He shouldn’t have said that to Annabelle.”

“What exactly did he say?” Seth asked, although he and Dean already knew the answer.

“He asked Annabelle why she gave Papa a kiss after he dropped us off this morning, and said it was gross because he isn’t her dad. Then I told him it was because you were my Papa’s boyfriend. Then he made a face and said ‘Ew’.” He explained.

“Do you think it’s gross?” Dean asked, finally able to get his thoughts in order.

“No.” Annabelle replied.

“Then it shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” Dean smirked, “You think?”

“But he said ‘ew’!” Sebastian frowned.

“Well,” Seth sighed, “Sometimes people just don’t understand, and they don’t try to. But really, it’s none of his business, is it?”

“Nope.” They answered.

“So next time, whenever someone asks about us like that, you tell them to mind their business. If someone is being nice and wants to talk to you about it, that’s fine. But if anyone does it again like today, you tell them to bug off. Ok?” Seth explained.

“Yup,” Annabelle replied, “Amelia Alexander was being nice to me today on the playground. She asked me about you and I told her, and she said that she thinks it’s really cool.”

“See, that works,” Seth smiled, “Who’s Amelia Alexander?”

“She sits next to me,” Annabelle smiled back, “She wrote me a note and told me that she was sorry that I was sad. Then we played on the playground.”

“You played with someone other than Seb?” Dean asked, almost in shock.

“No, I was there too,” He replied defensively. Like hell if he was letting Annabelle out of his sight that day, “I played with them.”

“Do you like Amelia?” Dean asked Sebastian, “She’s nice?”

He nodded, “Yeah she’s really nice. She plays soccer too but on a different team.”

“Maybe we should have her come over and play one day soon. You think?” Seth asked.

“Yeah!” Annabelle smiled.

The alarm on Dean’s phone went off, reminding him that he had to go pick up Tatum and Rylan, “I have to go get our other kids.”

Annabelle and Sebastian giggled at him, prompting Seth to lean over and start tickling them, “What’s so funny?!”

“Nothing!” They both giggled wildly, while Dean shook his head and smiled.

“On that note,” Dean said, “I’ll be going now.”

“Can we come?” Sebastian asked, as he caught his breath.

“Homework,” Dean replied, arching his eyebrow, “When I get back we’re going to have dinner, so you guys need to get it done.”

Sebastian frowned, “Ok fine.”

Annabelle elbowed him, “We have special homework remember?”

His eyes widened, “Oh yeah!”

Both kids bolted from the couch towards the kitchen, leaving Seth and Dean staring in confusion.

“Have you ever seen them so excited for homework?” Dean asked

“Nope. But, I think Miss Morgan should give them homework more often.”

“A concept.”

***

The doorbell rang a little bit after everyone had finished dinner. Seth was in the shower, Rylan and Tatum were working on their homework while Annabelle and Sebastian watched cartoons. When Dean answered the door he was surprised to see Finn and Noah.

“Hey guys,” He smiled, letting them in, “What’s up?”

“Came to see how Sebastian and Annabelle are doing,” Finn replied with a warm smile, “Heard today was a little rough.”

“A little,” Dean sighed, before looking at Noah, “I heard that you were a pretty big help today. Thanks very much for that.”

Noah blushed, “Your welcome.”

“NOAH!” Annabelle and Sebastian exclaimed, as they entered the front room and saw him.

“Hi!” He smiled back.

“Can we play soccer outside?” Annabelle asked, looking up at Dean, “Please? Tatum and Rylan want to go play, and Noah can come too!”

“Sure,” Dean smiled, “Just be careful and don’t kick the ball at the neighbor’s dog.”

Sebastian frowned, “But it’s so annoying.”

“I know, but you can’t do that Seb.”

He sighed, “Fine.”

“Let’s go!” Annabelle smiled, grabbing onto Sebastian’s arm.

All three kids ran through the house and headed outside to play with Tatum and Rylan. Dean sighed and shook his head a little, “Yeah, today’s been a day.”

“Hey, I get it,” Finn replied, “If you want to talk, or if there’s anything I can help you with, please ask.”

That’s how they ended up sitting on the couch, with Dean asking Finn everything under the sun. Most of his questions were about how Noah handled being picked on, and the effect it had on him. What types of things did Finn and Sami do to reassure Noah that things were ok? What was the worst situation they found themselves in so far? How involved were the teachers when Finn and Sami needed them to be? 

Finn had no issue with answering everything that Dean fired at him. His answers, suggestions and general experience helped Dean feel more comfortable after that days events.

“You know,” Dean started, “I could barely get a word out today. When we were talking to the kids, I froze. Seth handled the entire thing just about. I just, I don’t know I couldn’t think of anything to say. I almost felt like I failed in some sense.”

Finn shook his head, “No, you didn’t fail at all. There will be things that you have to lean on Seth for, and there will be things that you are better off handling. My husband is an emotional maniac sometimes….”

Dean couldn’t help the laugh that he let out. Sami was the sweetest guy, but he really got over-the-top sometimes.

Smiling, Finn continued, “He’s not always the best one to handle Noah’s problems in school all the time. Academically, Sami’s perfect with that stuff. But from doing Social Work, Sami has a first hand view at how mean the world can be. He immediately goes into over-drive when Noah has any kinds of problems socially. He fears the worst, and sometimes I think he would bubble wrap Noah if he could.”

“I can absolutely see that happening if you let him.” He smirked.

“I love my husband, I love my husband.” Finn chuckled in a fake chant.

Dean smiled, but stayed quiet for a few seconds while he gathered his thoughts, “You know…Every morning I wake up next to Seth and smile. I know that day is going to be some kind of adventure.  I've never had that before him. I know that every day the kids are growing up, and I love every second of watching it.  It feels like Annabelle's mine now too, and I never even thought about having a little girl, I just wanted a boy. Now the thought of not having her actually scares me. Her and Seth were this missing piece to my life that I didn’t even know was missing. But today...today wasn't what I ever wanted for the kids. I know I can't put them in a bubble and keep them away from things that are rotten in the world.  But today hurt me too. When I got that phone call at work I thought my heart cracked in half because it hurt so bad. How do you fix it, when you're hurting too? “

Finn thought for a moment before he answered, “You do the very best that you can. I know that it doesn’t seem like enough, but it’s all we can do. When they hurt, we hurt too, yes. We have to put on the brave face though, and do whatever they need us to. When you had to take Tatum to the hospital, do you remember the way Roman reacted?”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, I do.”

“How?”

Dean thought back for a second, “He just, he was upset, he was angry but calm at the same time, if that makes any sense. He just went into this mode, where even though his daughter was a mess he was totally stoic.”

“He was feeling everything then, that you felt today. We will never become immune to seeing our kids upset, but we’ll get better at helping them handle things. As long as our kids aren’t the ones that are starting the fights, then we’re doing a good job.”

He nodded a little, allowing Finn’s words to set in. Little did Finn and Dean know, that on the other side of the wall Seth had been standing and listening. Tears were falling down his face, mostly because he got emotional when Dean talked about Annabelle. Sometimes it still didn’t quiet click that he and Annabelle weren’t alone anymore. Seth knew that Dean loved his daughter, but just hearing it, and hearing Dean’s fears and concerns made the tears start to tumble. 

Seth wiped his eyes, then pulled out his phone to check the time. His eyes widened slightly when he realized that it was getting late and there were four kids that had to go to sleep. He walked through the house to the sliding deck doors. There he could see the kids playing in the giant backyard. Annabelle was giggling wildly as always, making Seth smile. As much as he didn’t want their fun to end, he stepped outside to call them in. 

***

“Ok, get up on the top bunk,” Tatum instructed, motioning for both of the younger kids to climb up onto Sebastian’s bed, “Then get your notebooks ready.”

“Ok!” They both answered, scrambling up to the top bunk.

Showers had been done and both kids were in their pajamas, about ready for bed. BUT, there was business to attend to first. Serving as their audience, Rylan sat on Sebastian’s bottom bed, surrounded with various other participants. Multiple stuffed animals and action figures were ready for the show as well.

“Alright, you guys ready?” Tatum smiled.

“Yup!” They both smiled from where they sat, opening up their notebooks.

“Ladies, gentlemen, super heroes, cute stuffed animals, and Wizard of Oz toys, I present to you the two coolest 1st graders ever, Sebastian and Annabelle!”

Rylan began to cheer, trying to keep himself together at the same time. This was a little ridiculous to him, but Tatum thought it was a great idea and would help the kids with their confidence.

Annabelle and Sebastian giggled, while Tatum began to interview them from where she stood, “Hi guys! Welcome to our show!”

“Thank you!” They both laughed.

“Tonight, you guys will be presenting your homework, that was given to you by the COOLEST grown up in the whole school! Are you ready?”

Sebastian nodded, “Yup!”

“Ok Sebby,” Tatum smiled, “You can start. Tell us, what was your assignment?”

“Mine was to write three things that make me mad, and three things I can do when I’m mad.” He explained.

“Alright,” Tatum replied, “What did you come up with?”

“Three things that make me mad are mean kids, the neighbor’s dog, and reading.” He explained.

“Ooooooooooh.” Rylan said out loud, serving as a dramatic sound effect. He held up the Dorothy and Incredible Hulk dolls, making them gasp.

Trying not to laugh too hard, Tatum asked, “So what are you going to try and do when you get angry like that?”

“I’m going to ignore the mean kids or tell Mrs. LeRae when they are being mean. I’m going to make a trail of dog treats that goes to a box so the dog will follow them and then I’ll catch him in the box….”

“SEBASTIAN!” Tatum and Annabelle exclaimed at the same time, while Rylan laughed wildly.

“What?!” he asked, “It won’t hurt him! Just til I’m done playing outside, then I’ll let him go!”

Annabelle looked at him as if he was out of his mind while Tatum shook her head, “You can’t do that, he’s not your dog. Try again, ok? What if you bring some music outside with you, so you can’t hear him bark? Or if you’re by yourself you can put your ear buds in?”

He thought for a second and shrugged, “Ok.” 

“Do I want to know what your third one is?” Tatum asked.

“Ask someone to help me.” He answered.

“Better answer.” Tatum smiled.

Rylan held up the Tin Man doll, “Boring!”

“Rylan!” Tatum hissed, while the kids laughed.

Tatum shook her head and looked at Annabelle, “Alright Miss Shortcake, you’re turn. What was your assignment?”

“Mine was to name two things I can do when someone is picking on me,” She replied, “And Sebby isn’t with me.”

“What did you come up with?”

“I can ignore them,” She started, “I can tell a teacher or a grown up, or go find Sebby and have him scare them.”

Tatum closed her eyes and smiled, while Rylan laughed into the Cowardly Lion doll, “Dear God…” he giggled.

“You have to pretend Sebby isn’t anywhere around,” Tatum explained, “Like he stayed home from school or something.”

“Oh,” She replied, “Then ignore them or tell a teacher or a grown up.”

“Perfect,” Tatum smiled, while Rylan applauded, “What else did you have to write?”

“Three things that I LOVE about living with Sebby and Mr. Dean.” She smiled.

“Aweeeeeee.” Rylan said dramatically, making Dorothy hug Iron Man.

Annabelle and Sebastian giggled, while Tatum smiled, “What did you write?”

“I love that I get to be with Sebby and Mr. Dean all the time, and that I get to live in a really pretty big house, and that it makes my Daddy SUPER happy.” She smiled proudly.

“Perfect!” Tatum replied, turning to Rylan who was applauding, “Does our audience have any questions?”

Rylan held up Batman, and raised his hand, “Me!”

“What’s your question?” Tatum asked.

“How happy are you that we’re staying here this week?” Rylan smirked to the kids.

“SUPER HAPPY!” Annabelle exclaimed.

“YUP!” Sebastian replied.

Rylan looked at Tatum, “Ok, the audience has no more questions. Good job Tatum.”

 

***

Tatum tucked the kids into bed that night to give Seth and Dean a little bit of a break. She came downstairs to put their notebooks away for them, when she realized there was a conversation going on in the kitchen. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to hear it, just by the low tone that her Uncles were speaking in. Then she realized that the low tone seemed more like sadness. Quietly, she stood and listened, 

“We can do something next week,” Dean said, “Our schedules are just kind of fucked this week.”

Seth sighed, “I know.”

“I mean, did you have something in mind?”

“I didn’t really think about it until I realized we were going to actually have a Valentine’s Day together.”

Tatum’s eyes widened, “Fuck.” she whispered to herself.

Sure, every year Roman and Gemma take the same cruise on the same dates. Every year, Tatum and Rylan crash with Dean for that entire week. This year was different though. This year Dean actually had someone to spend Valentine’s Day with. Valentine’s Day was the next day, and even IF their work schedules didn’t conflict, they still had zero time that week to do anything together. Tatum decided at that second, that her Uncles would NOT have shitty Valentine’s day. 

***

“Are you sure?” Rylan asked, trying to let his sister’s master plan continue to swirl in his head.

They were upstairs in Annabelle’s room where Tatum had been sleeping for the week. Quietly, Tatum answered, “Yes, positive. I already text Angie, and her dad said he would drop her and I off at the shopping center after school, and pick us back up. I’ll get everything we need, I just need you to take care of the kids ok? Pick them up from the bus stop and make them a snack. Can you do that for me?”

Rylan smiled, “Abso-freaking-lutely. How are you paying for everything though?”

“The money that mom and dad gave me for the week.”

“I thought you were going to use it on Saturday when you go to the mall with Angie.”

She shrugged, “Some things are more important than the mall.”

***

“What are we doing?!” Annabelle exclaimed after school on Friday. 

“Yeah! What are we doing?” Sebastian asked.

“Listen,” Rylan started, while the kids looked at him from the kitchen table where they sat, “We’re going to do something that is super top-secret ok?”

Both kids gasped, “Like what?!”

“We’re going to make a Valentine’s Day dinner for your dads.” 

“WE ARE?!”

“Yeah,” He nodded, “Tatum is on her way home right now, she has everything to make.”

No sooner that Rylan spoke did Tatum come in the front door, “Hi!” she called, walking into the kitchen with two arms full of grocery bags, “I think I got it all.”

“What are we making?! What are we making?!” Sebastian asked.

“Ok, ok, calm down,” She replied, piling the bags onto the counter, “We have steak, macaroni and cheese, salad, and asparagus.” 

“Papa loves asparagus!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“They love mac and cheese too!” Annabelle added.

“Exactly!” Tatum smiled, “And we’re going to bake a cake for them too ok?”

“A CAKE?!” Annabelle nearly screamed.

“Yup!” She answered, digging into one of the bags, “I went to the Party Store for decorations and I found this cake pan too,” She explained, showing them the heart shaped pan, “So we can make the cake in the shape of a heart.”

“And pink icing?!” Annabelle asked.

Tatum pulled out a container of already made pink icing, “Yup!”

Annabelle and Sebastian jumped from their chairs, “We’re ready!” Sebastian smiled.

“Wash your hands,” she instructed, “And then we’ll get this show on the road.”

 

***

Annabelle and Sebastian got involved in making every part of the dinner that night. Both of them were standing on chairs at the kitchen counter, listening carefully while Tatum and Rylan instructed them. Sebastian washed off the asparagus and held it while Rylan cut the edges off. He then got to put them in the pan, which was the final step for the time being. 

“I wanna be a good cook when I grow up,” Sebastian declared, while he and Annabelle ever so carefully sprinkled seasoning on the steaks, “Like my Papa.”

“Do you want a restaurant too, Sebby?” Annabelle asked.

He shrugged, “I dunno, maybe.”

Tatum, who was half holding her breath while watching them season the steaks, couldn’t help smiling, “Maybe you’ll run your Papa’s restaurant when you grow up.”

“Then what will my Papa do?” He asked, finishing up his spoonful of seasoning.

“Sleep.” Rylan smiled.

“Sounds like a good idea.” Annabelle replied.

“All done, what’s next?” Sebastian asked.

They helped Tatum get the steaks on a baking sheet, then moved on to their next missions. Rylan helped Sebastian start measuring everything out to make the mac and cheese. Tatum and Annabelle started working on the cake with Annabelle giggling, “Shake-shake-and-bake-a-cake…gonna bake a cake!”

“Your cake baking song.” Tatum laughed.

“Yup!”

***

“Hey I’m home!” Seth called, walking in the front door a couple of hours later.

“In the kitchen!” Four voices answered in unison.

Seth dropped his bag and headed for the kitchen. It smelled completely amazing and he wasn’t sure why or how, “Hey, what are you guys up to?”

“Surprise!” They shouted.

Seth looked at the kitchen table and his jaw dropped wide. The table itself was covered by a red table cloth with little heart confetti spread over it. There were two place settings, both with matching heart shaped plates and napkins. Two candles sat in the middle of the table with a bottle of wine.

“How-what’s happening right now?” He asked with a smile, looking at the kids.

“We made you dinner!” Annabelle smiled, “For you and Mr. Dean for Valentine’s Day!”

Seth still had a goofy smile on his face, “This looks awesome! What’s on the menu?”

“Well,” Tatum smiled, “Everything is done, it’s being kept warm but you might have to reheat it if Uncle Dean is super late.”

“We made steak, asparagus, mac and cheese, salad and a cake.” Rylan explained proudly.

“WHAT?!” Seth exclaimed, “That’s so awesome you guys, thank you so much!”

“Now you guys can have a real Valentine’s Day.” Tatum said with a smirk.

“I owe you,” He replied, “Big time.”

She shrugged, “It’s fine, just have fun ok? We made pizza, it’s downstairs we’re going to eat and watch movies. You two kids have fun.”

“Oh…we will.”

***

“You scared me!” Dean exclaimed, when Seth grabbed him as he walked in the door.

“Sorry,” he smirked, giving him a kiss, “How was your day?”

“Long,” he sighed, “You know, Valentine’s Day dinner, everyone wants it.”

Seth chuckled, holding on to Dean’s hands and leading him towards the kitchen.

“Where are you taking me?” He asked.

He got his answer when he turned the corner and entered the kitchen. At this point the lights were dimmer and Seth had put some random music station on lowly, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Dean’s eyebrows almost rose off his forehead, “You did this?!”

“Nah,” He answered with a smile, “The kids put this together for us.”

“Are you serious?” He asked, looking at Seth in completely shock, “They did all of this?”

Seth nodded, “Yeah. Angie’s Dad took Tatum to the grocery store after school and she got all of this. All four of them spent the afternoon making dinner for us.”

“Holy shit,” He smiled, “This is amazing. Where are they?”

“Downstairs eating pizza and watching movies.”

Dean looked back at the table, where Seth had set the food out once he knew Dean was close to home. He arched his eyebrow when he saw the bottle of wine, “How did our teenage niece get wine?”

“Angie’s dad,” Seth smirked, “Send him a pizza or something this week, ok?”

He nodded, “Oh, absolutely.”

***

At one point during dinner, Tatum snuck upstairs and peeked into the kitchen. She smiled brightly while she watched the scene playing out in front of her. Dean and Seth looked like two teenagers out on a date. Both of them smiling and laughing while they ate, totally oblivious to the rest of the world around them. Tatum couldn’t remember a time in her life where she felt so accomplished.

***

When Seth had moved in, it was obvious that all of his furniture wouldn’t fit. They managed to get his office consolidated with Deans so that they both had their own work spaces. Furniture wise it was a little tight. Then, Dean was struck by an idea that he actually almost kicked himself for not realizing sooner. He had an entire furnished basement that was practically empty. 

Aside from the large open room, there were three other smaller rooms. A bedroom, Sebastian’s playroom, and a bathroom. Dean’s wheels were turning, and he decided there would be some serious rearranging going on. 

The large open area now held all of Seth’s living room furniture. Two couches, two end table, a coffee table, recliner and the flat screen TV surrounded by the entertainment center. All of Seth’s bedroom furniture fit perfectly into the spare room, where Dean and Seth would be spending hours at later that night.

“Oh God,” Seth panted, “Fuck…fuck….De-”

On his back, with Seth’s back hovering over his chest, Dean continued to fuck up into him like rapid fire. They lost track of how many times they had gone so far, what time of the night it was, or how they ended up in the position they were in. Bent knees and a lot of arm power from Seth kept him in one of his favorite ways to have Dean fuck him. 

Dean’s hand snaked up and down Seth’s chest and stomach, taking a couple tugs at his rock hard cock each time. Seth was completely wrecked, begging for more making Dean smirk to himself, “What do you want?” Dean teased, drilling him harder.

The only response from Seth was his moans getting louder and more desperate. Dean reached over and turned Seth’s head, smashing their lips together fiercely. He ran his other hand to the inside of Seth’s thighs and everywhere else BUT where Seth wanted it. 

“PLEASE!” Seth finally begged, practically spitting out the kiss.

“Please what?” Dean growled.

“T-t-touch me!” He cried out, his voice cracking and hoarse.

“Ohhhhh.” Dean moaned, wrapping his hand around Seth’s cock and giving solid strokes. 

Seth was gone within seconds, shooting spurts all over both of them, screaming Dean’s name and shaking fiercely. 

“FUCK!” Dean shouted into Seth’s neck, still with no way to keep himself from cumming after he watched Seth, “Fuck-fuck-fuck!” he moaned, riding out his wave into Seth’s quivering hole, “Yessss baby.”

Seth was down to whimpers, feeling himself pulled over and to Dean’s side. Wrapped in his arms, he closed his eyes and held on as tightly as he could, “I think I like Valentine’s Day.” Dean breathed.

Seth nodded into him, his panting starting to slow down, “Me too.”

***

“I thought you were going to the mall with Angie.” Dean said to Tatum the next afternoon. 

She was sitting at the table with Annabelle, reading her latest assignment from English class when she looked up, “I um…I…”

“She doesn’t have any money.” Annabelle answered for her.

“Shortcake,” Tatum hissed, “That’s our secret.”

“Oh! Right!” She replied slightly embarrassed. She looked back at Dean, “Just kidding.”

Tatum face palmed herself while Dean tried to hold in his laughter, “That’s weird, because I swear you do have money.”

“Angie will be here in a couple of minutes,” Seth said, as he walked into the kitchen, “So you better get ready.”

“Wait,” Tatum answered, looking at them confused, “What’s happening right now?”

“You’re going to the mall,” Dean answered, looking at her as if she was the one that was causing confusion, “Remember?”

Annabelle looked to Tatum and whispered, “I think they’re crazy.”

“Me too,” she agreed, looking up at Dean, “Where did I get money?”

“The money fairy,” Seth replied, looking at Annabelle and giving her a wink, “Duh.”

Annabelle smirked to herself. She knew that her Daddy and Dean were going to give Tatum money since she spent all of hers on their dinner. 

“So go get your purse, and go to the mall with Angie and have fun, ok?” Dean smirked.

“O….Ok.” She answered, still confused as she got up and went upstairs to get changed.

“How much money did you give her?” Annabelle asked with her eyes wide.

***

“Holy shit.” Tatum said from the backseat of Mr. Strowman’s truck.

“What?” Angie and her Dad answered at the same time.

Tatum had just looked in her wallet and found that Dean and Seth had in fact, left her money, “My Uncles gave me some serious cash!”

“How much?!” Angie replied, turning and looking to Tatum.

Tatum smiled, “Two hundred dollars.”

***

 

Dean was standing at the deck door watching the kids play in the backyard, when Seth wrapped his arms around him from behind, “Hi.” he smirked, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

He tilted his head back and smiled, “Hi.”

“What’cha doing?” He teased, kissing the side of Dean’s neck.

“Making sure the soccer ball doesn’t end up near the neighbor’s dog.” 

Seth chuckled, squeezing on to Dean tight, “I think that’s going to be a never ending battle.”

“I think you’re right.” he replied.

Seth smirked, kissing the side of Dean’s head and leaving his face there, “I love you.” 

Dean smiled, “I love you too.”

“Do I tell you enough?”

“Hm?” Dean asked, turning to him confused, “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I asked,” Seth replied, “Do I tell you enough?”

“Of course you do,” He smiled, “You tell me all the time. Why do you ask?”

Seth shrugged and took a breath, “I kind of accidentally heard you talking to Finn the other day.”

Dean raised his eyebrows, “Oh?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, really I-”

“It’s ok baby,” Dean replied with a reassuring grin, “It’s fine. Is something wrong though?”

“No, nothing’s wrong at all, it’s just…Sometimes I have this split second where I forget that Annabelle and I aren’t alone anymore. I know we’re not alone anymore, I do. I sometimes just…”

“Have that realization? It kind of makes everything stop?”

“Exactly,” He replied, “So just hearing you talk about us…I just wanted to make sure that you know that I love you, and that I…”

Dean interrupted him with a kiss, wrapping him up securely in his arms then reassuring him, “I know that. Every split second of every day ok?”

Seth smiled, “Ok.”

“Thank you for being the strong one the other day. Clearly I’m not ready for that.”

“Yes you are,” Seth replied, “You are. You just don’t know it yet.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? How are Dean and Seth navigating this whole parenting thing? How awesome are Tatum and Miss Morgan, actually? Does anyone else totally want Annabelle's room? :) Any thoughts on other things as well? :)


	23. Happy Birthday, Tatum!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth and Dean go on separate adventures with each others kid before they head to Roman's for Tatum's birthday party.

“Why do we have to go to the mall?”

That’s how it began on Saturday morning. Tatum’s birthday party was later that afternoon, giving Seth and Dean a few hours to do some errands. The mall, the grocery store, back home drop everything off, and then off to Roman’s house for the party.

Dean looked at his son, “Because I need some new shorts for work.” 

“Can’t we just go to the grocery store?” He asked, folding his arms, “I hate the mall.” 

“How can you hate the mall?!” Annabelle asked, as she walked into the kitchen astonished by his statement.

“It’s stupid and you guys always make me go into all of the stupid stores.” He complained.

“Well the grocery store is stupid-er!” She shot back at him.

Sebastian gasped, “Nu-uh!”

“Am I hearing this argument correctly?” Seth asked. He had been standing by the sink while Sebastian and Dean started their debate. Now he was almost in shock that Sebastian and Annabelle were disagreeing on something.

“Daddy!” Annabelle whined, “I don’t wanna go to the grocery store!”

“I don’t wanna go to the mall!” Sebastian shot.

“WOAH,” Dean started, getting their attention, “First off, lose the attitudes RIGHT now.”

Both kids turned a slight shade of pink, as their demeanors calmed.

“Second,” Dean continued, “If we say that we have to go somewhere, guess what? We have to go. Last time I checked, we’re the adults here.”

Seth stood behind the counter, eating grapes and nodding along with what his boyfriend was saying, “Wanna split it?” he asked.

Dean arched his eyebrow looking from Seth back to the kids, “Ok. Sebby can go to the grocery store with Seth. AB you can come to the mall with me, and we’ll meet at Roman’s for the party later.”

“Really?!” They asked, wide eyed.

“You sure you wanna take her to the mall?” Sebastian asked his Papa.

He shrugged, “Why not?”

He gave Dean a horrified look, “Good luck.”

***

“Which bunny was your favorite?” Dean asked Annabelle, while they walked through the mall.

Their first stop had been the Pet Rescue Store, one of Annabelle’s favorites. She laughed and giggled while she held and pet the bunnies, making Dean smile and decide to pet them too.

“Honey the Bunny,” Annabelle smiled, holding onto Dean’s hand, “Then Fluffy. Fluffy is really cute. Did you like them?”

Dean smiled, “Yeah, bunnies are cool. Especially the Easter Bunny. He brings candy.”

Annabelle giggled while Dean swung their arms as they walked.

“Are you going to buy your new clothes at Old Navy?” Annabelle asked, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

“Hm,” he answered, “I’ve never shopped there before.”

“What?” she gasped, “It’s my most favorite store!”

“I thought the Pet Store was your favorite.” Dean teased.

“That too!” She smiled, “But Old Navy’s my favorite-favorite.”

He chuckled, “Ok, let’s go.” 

“Yay!” She exclaimed.

It was quite obvious that Tatum and Gemma had taken Annabelle on many shopping trips to Old Navy. She basically knew the entire store, and exactly where to point Dean.

“Do you need jeans?” She asked, looking up at him.

“I need shorts really,” he explained, “It’s too hot in my restaurant for jeans.”

“Oh! Ok!” she smiled, taking his hand and leading him to a table with khaki shorts in the men’s section, “These are the kind that Aunt Gemma buys for Uncle Roman,” she said, before pointing to a pair of dark tan ones, “These are the ones she got him last time.”

“Interesting,” he smirked, recalling that Roman had worn those shorts the day before, “Ok, I need basic stuff. Black or Tan. I can’t be wearing green shorts to work.”

Annabelle giggled, and then went on a hunt through the tables. When she found the colors he needed, he helped her find his size, “Perfect.” he smiled, holding both of them up.

“What about these?” She asked.

Dean turned around to see her holding a pair of navy blue shorts with tiny pink flamingos embroidered throughout them. He blinked for a second, “Those?”

“Yup,” she nodded, “And you can get a pink shirt to match them.”

Dean took the shorts from her and an examined them closely. He’d never worn anything that wasn’t a basic color before. This was, well, interesting. It was in the Men’s section after all, it couldn’t hurt, and besides he could always return them when Seth was done laughing. Not to mention, it would make Annabelle extremely happy, “Ok, I’ll get them.”

She smiled, “We have to find a shirt now!”

“Lead the way.” He smiled back.

They ended up finding a pink polo shirt that went with the pink of the flamingos. Annabelle also helped him pick out a couple pair of cargo shorts as well. 

“Do you want to go find something?” He asked her, while loading up their cart with their findings.

She looked at him puzzled, “But I thought we were shopping for you.”

Dean couldn’t help smiling at her, she was absolutely Seth’s child, making sure everyone else was taken care of first, “I’m done now. We can go look in your section for something if you want to.”

Annabelle’s eyes lit up, “Really?!”

“Yes, really.”

“YES!” 

Shopping for little girls clothing was definitely a new experience for Dean. Sure, he had picked out an outfit or two for Tatum when she was growing up, but that was eons ago. He watched as Annabelle looked around, stopping to check out every shirt or dress that was pink or purple. 

“Which one do you like?” She asked, looking at Dean.

“Hmm,” He smiled, walking over and examining the strappy dresses on the rounder, “How about this one?” he asked, pulling off a light pink on with strawberries printed on it.

“Strawberries?” She asked with a smile as she examined it.

“Yeah,” He answered, “Like the shortcake.”

“Like me?” 

“Strawberry shortcake,” he chuckled, “It’s really yummy.”

Her eyes widened, “Can we make one?!”

“Hmmmm,” He thought, “That might be a better thing for you to do with Aunt Gemma and Tatum.”

“But why can’t I make it with you?” She asked with a hint of sadness in her voice, “I always make stuff with Aunt Gemma and Tatum all the time, and never with you.”

Dean suddenly felt bad, knowing that Annabelle’s statement was true, “I’ll probably screw it up.”

“That’s ok,” She answered, “It’s still fun, and that’s how you learn to do it better.”

He smirked and gave her a fake glare, “Ok, we will. But if I blow up the kitchen, you’re cleaning it up.”

Annabelle giggled wildly, “You won’t, don’t worry.”

“Ok, I’ll remember that!”

“Ok, I will too!” She smiled, reaching out and taking his hand so they could continue their shopping.

“Ooooh!” she exclaimed, when she saw the wall full of swim suits, “I need one of those.”

“I thought you had one.” Dean replied.

“It’s too small,” She answered, “I told my Daddy but I think he forgot.”

Dean nodded, “Sounds about right.”

As she looked through the options, her eyes became fixated with a certain purple two piece, “What about this?” she asked, pulling it down.

Dean examined it for a minute. Sure, Annabelle already had a two piece swim suit, but now he had to approve of it. He decided that it was definitely age appropriate for a two piece. He couldn’t deny that it was adorable, purple with a pattern of silver and pink stars.

“Ok, you can get it.” Dean caved.

“Yes!” She squealed, putting it in the cart, “Should we get something for Sebby too?” 

“He said he didn’t want to come to the mall,” Dean joked, “If he did come, then he could get himself something.”

She folded her arms, “But he needs shorts, remember?

Dean’s eyebrows raised, “Good point. What kind should we get him?”

“Ones that won’t rip.” She replied.

“Good luck to us.”

***

 

Sebastian was ready to roll as soon as he walked into the grocery store with Seth. He ran right up to the line of smaller shopping carts for children and grabbed one. Seth stood to the side chuckling while he watched him push the cart over, “Ok! Ready!”

“You think that thing is big enough for all of the groceries we need?” Seth asked.

“Um,” he started, giving it thought, “I’m not sure.”

“How about I grab a basket just incase?”

Sebastian nodded, “Good idea.”

“What’s first?” Seth asked, after he grabbed a shopping basket.

“Ice cream?”

Seth arched his eyebrow, then pulled the list from his pocket, “How about milk?”

“Sounds right.” Sebastian answered.

“Lead the way.” 

Milk, eggs and butter were taken care of first, in the same section were Sebastian’s favorite yogurts, “What kind are you feeling this week?” Seth asked him.

Sebastian looked at the tubed yogurts and grabbed two boxes of them, “Blue for me and pink for AB.”

He put them in his cart and then looked up at Seth, “What’s next?”

“Chicken nuggets.” Seth smirked.

“Yes!”

“You want dinosaur or regular?” Seth asked, after they made it to the frozen food aisle and he pointed out both kinds.

“Oooh,” he smiled, “Dinosaur!”

Seth handed him a bag of them, then asked, “Curly fries or regular?”

“Definitely curly fries.” He smiled.

“And we’ll get happy face ones for your Papa.”

Sebastian giggled while Seth put the three bags into his little cart. They continued their trek through the grocery store, Seth picking Sebastian up a few times to reach certain things on the shelves. When they got to the bakery, he stared wide eyed at the giant green frosted donuts with silly faces on them.

“How many are you guys getting today, Sebastian?” Mr. Kofi, the bakery manager asked with a smile.

“100!” He exclaimed.

Seth chuckled, “Not in this lifetime bro.”

He sighed and looked back up to Mr. Kofi, “Two please. One for me, and one for Annabelle.”

“That sounds about right,” He smiled, bagging them up and coming around the counter to bring them to him, “Are you and Annabelle behaving?”

“Yup.” He smiled, taking the donuts from him, “How did you do at the pancake contest?”

“First place,” He answered, “Best pancakes in town for the third year in a row!”

“Congrats,” Seth smiled, “That’s pretty awesome.”

“Thank you very much.” Kofi beamed.

“Thank you for the donuts, Mr. Kofi.” Sebastian grinned, before putting his donuts in his packed cart.

“How is he still pushing that?” Mr. Kofi asked Seth.

Seth shook his head, “I have no idea.”

Their last stop was the deli, where Mr. Otis and Mr. Tucker were busy at work slicing meats for customers. Seth held Sebastian up so he could grab a number and wave, “Hi Mr. Otis, Hi Mr. Tucker!”

Mr. Otis looked up first and smiled, “Hey! It’s my favorite restaurant chef!”

Sebastian giggled, staying up in Seth’s arms until it was their turn to order, “The usual?” he asked Sebastian, “Bologna, ham and cheese?” 

He turned to Seth who nodded, “You got it!”

“How’s my favorite restaurant doing?” Mr. Tucker asked, taking a minute to come over and chat. 

“It’s good!” Sebastian answered with a smile.

“Excellent.” He replied. 

“Yup!”

Mr. Otis finished bagging up the meats, and handed them over the counter to Sebastian. With the bags came two Tootsie Pops, “Thank you.” Sebastian smiled. 

“You’re welcome, Little Man.”

“Thanks a lot.” Seth replied. 

Both of them gave a small nod, and then called for the next customer in line.

“I think we’re good.” Seth said, looking between his basket and Sebastian’s over filled cart.

Sebastian nodded in agreement, “Yup. I think so too.”

***

 

“Alright Shortcake,” Dean said, pushing the cart with one hand and carrying her with the other, “Are we done?”

“Yeah,” She replied, giving Dean a kiss on his cheek, “We made it.”

Dean chuckled as they waited in line to be called. Dean’s eyebrows raised when he realized the next open cashier had a red mow hawk. As they walked closer, Annabelle let out a gasp when she saw him, “Hi Mr. Sheamus!” 

“Hey!” he smiled back, reaching up and giving her a hi-five, “How’s it going little one?”

“Good!” She replied, as Dean sat her on the counter, “This is Tatum’s Uncle Dean!”

Sheamus immediately extended his hand to Dean, “The famous Uncle Dean?”

“Do I want to know?” Dean asked with a small smile, shaking Sheamus’ hand. 

“My son goes to school with Tatum,” he explained, “They’re a couple years apart but they have some classes together. I also get begged for carry out from your restaurant almost every night of the week.”

“Oooooooh,” Dean chuckled, as everything started to make sense, “Well it’s nice to meet you, Sheamus.”

“Likewise.” He smiled, as he began ringing up their clothes.

“Mr. Sheamus is the boss,” Annabelle said to Dean, “He gets to tell everyone what to do, like you do.”

“Not all the time,” Sheamus chuckled, “I have a boss too.”

“Oh,” She replied, folding her arms, “That’s no fun.”

Dean smiled, “Not at all.”

When Annabelle saw Sheamus ring up the flamingo pants she pointed and asked, “Do you like those, Mr. Sheamus?” 

“Definitely,” He answered, “They’re really popular this year, we keep running out.”

Annabelle looked up at Dean with a small smirk which he returned with a pretend glare, “I’ll get you, my pretty.”

She giggled back, “And your little dog too.”

Dean smirked, then pulled out his bank card to pay for everything. Annabelle’s eyes widened, prompting Dean to hand her the card, “Go ahead.”

“Whoo!” she smiled, putting the card into the machine and waiting, “Press green for ok.” She read, before hitting the green button. 

“You’re better at this then some of the adults that come in here.” Sheamus chuckled.

“I believe it.” Dean replied.

Annabelle pulled the card out and handed it back to Dean happily, “Ok we’re done!”

Dean smiled, getting Annabelle down off of the counter and then grabbing the receipt and bag with his free hand, “Thanks a lot Sheamus.”

“No problem,” He replied, “Bye Annabelle, tell Tatum I said hi!”

“Ok! I will!” 

She happily skipped along with Dean, stopping when they walked in front of a mirror. Carefully she examined herself, then frowned, “I don’t like my hair anymore.” she said to him.

Dean looked at her surprised, “You don’t?”

Annabelle shook her head and looked at him sadly through the mirror, “It’s SO long, and it’s always in the way. My Daddy doesn’t know how to do anything besides a pony tail.”

“Well,” He started, running his free hand through it playfully, “You feel like a haircut today too?”

Her head whipped around to him, eyes wide, “Really?”

Dean chuckled, “C’mon.”

***

Annabelle had no idea what she was in for when she walked into the kids hair salon with Dean. She stopped in her tracks, looking around at everything that was going on. The walls were decorated with polka dots and cartoon characters. The mirrors were in the shapes of hearts, stars and circles, there was a small play area and the salon chairs were made like vehicles. There was a fire truck, police car, race car, and a taxi amongst a few others.

“Woah.” Annabelle said, absorbing everything that was going on.

There were a couple of kids playing on the sliding board, while another little boy watched a movie. 

“Pretty sweet, huh?” Dean asked.

She looked up at him wide eyed, “This place is for hair cuts?!”

Dean chuckled, “Yes. C’mon.”

After they were checked in, Annabelle sat on the bright purple couch with Dean. Dean had grabbed a hair style magazine on his way, handing it to Annabelle, “How about you look through there, and see if there’s any hair cuts you like?”

“Oooooooh,” She grinned, opening it up and beginning to explore her options, “This is nice.” She said, pointing to a shorter cut, about shoulder length.

“Wow,” Dean replied, “You want to cut THAT much?”

She looked up at him, “I think me and my long hair need some time apart.”

He couldn’t help laughing at her wording, “Time apart huh?”

“It’s always in the way,” She sighed, “Everyone always tells me how pretty it is, but it’s hard to wash and brush too. You or my Daddy always has to help me with it.”

“Well then guess what?” Dean smirked.

“What?” She replied.

“We’re going to take some time apart from your hair then.”

She smiled, “Ok!”

Annabelle heard her name being called, and looked up to see a lady heading towards them, “Hi Sweetie,” she smiled brightly, “My name is Alexa, and I’ll be doing your hair today, ok?”

She nodded with a smile, admiring the pink tips of Alexa’s long blonde hair, “I really like your pink hair.”

“Thanks!’ Alexa grinned, “How about you come this way with me, and we’ll get to work on that hair ok?”

Annabelle looked up at Dean excitedly, before they both climbed up from the couch and followed Alexa back to the stations. 

“Hop right on up here.” Alexa smiled, motioning to the pink and purple jeep that served as her chair.

Dean picked her up and put her inside, making her even more sky high with excitement. Alexa brushed out her hair, and the three of them discussed ideas for what they wanted the end result to be. The bottom line was that Annabelle was sick of her hair, and it needed to go.

Alexa tucked some Annabelle’s hair under, to give her an idea of what her hair would look like if she chopped it off. Annabelle loved the idea, but of course asked Dean, “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s perfect.” Dean smiled.

“What will my Daddy say?”

“He’ll probably cry for a few minutes, but then he’ll be fine.” He replied, giving her a wink.

Annabelle giggled then looked at Alexa, “Ok that’s what Id’ like, please.”

“Great,” Alexa smiled, “Do you think that you might want to donate it?”

Annabelle looked at her confused, “What’s that mean?”

“I’m lost too.” Dean said.

Alexa grinned and went on to explain to them how hair donations worked. If a child was getting a certain amount of hair cut, they could send it to a special organization as a donation. The hair would be used to make wigs for other children who lost their hair from illness.

“Yes, let’s do that!” Annabelle said wide eyed, “That’s important.”

Dean smiled at how incredibly sweet Annabelle really was, “That sounds great, we’re in.”

“Alright,” Alexa giggled, “Let’s do this.”

***

 

“We made it!” Sebastian exclaimed, as they pulled up to Roman’s house.

“Yeah, we finally did.” Seth smirked.

After their adventure at the grocery store, they had to go back home and unload everything. From there, they had to pack up everything that needed to go over to Roman’s house for Tatum’s party. Dean had text Seth and told them that he and Annabelle were running super late, and would see them at Roman’s house.

“Ok let’s go!” Sebastian smiled. 

He helped Seth with a few grocery bags that they needed to make dinner for the party. The house was starting to fill up with relatives while Tatum and her friends were outside in the pool. 

“Can I help make the burgers?” Sebastian asked Roman, with hopeful eyes. 

“How about this?” Roman suggested, “You and Seth make the burgers, and I’ll do the grilling, ok?”

Sebastian looked up at Seth who smiled, “Sure.”

“Yes!” Sebastian exclaimed, grabbing a chair and pushing it up to the counter. He very carefully washed his hands, leaving no spot untouched. 

“Ok I’m ready!” He smiled, after he dried his hands.

Seth smiled, “Let’s do this.”

The both of them had a tray full of patties ready to go rather quickly. Sebastian was watching and following Seth’s every step as he added spices to the ground beef and formed them into patties. The last tray in front of them was as almost full, ready for Roman to grill. Of course, Gemma had pulled her phone out and secretly snapped a picture of the cooking show that was taking place.

Roman’s eyes were wide when Seth and Sebastian delivered him the trays of patties, “You did this?!” he smiled to Sebastian.

“I helped!” He giggled.

“Nah, he did some of them by himself.” Seth replied, giving him a wink.

“You guys getting in the pool now?” Roman asked, after he put the trays down next to the grill.

“Yes!” Sebastian exclaimed.

***

Seth wasn’t aware that Sebastian had a diving-board-phobia. It wasn’t until Rylan started picking on him, that the realization occurred. While Tatum and her friends were sitting on the steps gossiping, Rylan and some of his cousins were doing cannon balls off of the diving board. 

“Chicken!” Rylan teased playfully, as he swam around in the deep end of the pool.

“I am not!” Sebastian argued back, while on an inflatable float shaped as a pineapple.

“Why don’t you jump off of it then?” Rylan asked.

“Cause I don’t wanna!” He answered, flipping himself from the float and swimming to the side of the pool.

“Uh oh.” Rylan’s cousin said, watching Sebastian climb out of the pool and go over to the adults.

Rylan sighed, “I was kidding.”

“What’s wrong?” Seth asked, went he realized there was a wet tiny human clinging to his leg.

“They were making fun of me!” Sebastian whined.

Seth shifted around and picked Sebastian up, “Who was?”

“Rylan.”

“Why?” Roman asked, taking his attention away from the grill.

“They called me a chicken cause I won’t jump off the diving board!”

“Oh for fucks sake.” Roman muttered under his breath. It was the same thing, EVERY time they all went swimming together. Roman closed the lid to the grill and the marched out towards the pool.

“Rylan!” He roared, causing everyone that was swimming to freeze in place.

Rylan turned and looked at his fuming father, “I’m sorry! I won’t do it anymore!”

“He’s six years old Rylan!” Roman fired.

“I was just joking, he knew I was!”

“Do it again and I’ll drown you myself.” Roman shot.

“Ok! I’m sorry!”

Roman shook his head and walked back towards the grill area, “Ok?” he asked Sebastian.

Sebastian nodded with a satisfied smirk, “Ok.”

Roman knew that his son wasn’t being malicious with his teasing. He also knew that with all of the bullying that the kids had been subjected to, he had to set an example to Sebastian that it was never cool to pick on someone. Rylan knew he wasn’t in trouble although his dad didn’t want him picking at Sebastian anymore. He also knew that his dad wasn’t going to drown him either.

“So you wanna get back in?” Seth asked Sebastian.

“Can you come?” He asked.

“Sure.” Seth smiled.

***

“It’s curly!” Annabelle exclaimed.

“Yeah, check that out,” Alexa smiled, as Annabelle stared at her new haircut in the mirror, “Your hair was SO long that it was weighing down ALL of these pretty curls and waves.”

“Really?!” Annabelle asked in shock.

“Yup.”

Annabelle turned to Dean, “Look!”

Dean couldn’t help smiling. Her long locks were now braided and in a plastic bag, ready to be sent to children in need. Now, Annabelle sat with hair just below her shoulders full of waves and not just slightly wavy anymore. If there was ever a question on whether she was Seth’s kid or not, this haircut solved it, “It looks SO good.” He smiled.

“Do you think my Daddy will like it?” She asked, with hopeful eyes.

“He better,” Dean smirked, “Or me and him will have a LONG chat.”

Her eyes widened and she smiled, “Ok!”

***

“Ok listen,” Seth instructed, “I’ll count to three, and you jump, ok?”

Sebastian was on the edge of the diving board, while Seth kept himself a float in front of it. He managed to get Sebastian to walk on the diving board by himself, but now was the big test.

“You’re going to catch me right?!” Sebastian asked.

“Yep,” He replied, stretching his arms out, “Right here dude. All you have to do is jump.”

“You promise?” He asked.

“Yup, I promise. You ready?”

Sebastian nodded, “I’m ready!”

On three, Sebastian jumped and as Seth promised, caught him in his arms and splashed in the water. 

“WOAH!” Seth laughed, after he had Sebastian secure in his arms. 

“That was cool!” He smiled.

“Did Sebastian just jump off the diving board?!” Roman asked, walking over.

“I did!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“Good job, Sebby!” Tatum smiled, while she and her friends giggled.

“I wanna do it again!” He declared, swimming over to the ladder and climbing out.

“Nice job.” Roman chuckled to Seth.

After a few more times, Seth didn’t need to catch Sebastian. He was jumping off the diving board all by himself. Rylan and his cousins started teaching him cannon balls and other tricks, leaving Seth’s services un needed anymore. 

Wrapped in a towel, he headed back over to Roman and a few friends that were hanging out by the grill, “That was fun.”

“I don’t know how you did that,” Roman laughed, “We’ve been trying forever.”

He shrugged, “Beats me.”

“Dean’s probably going to think he’s hallucinating. Speaking of, where the heck are they?”

***

“What if nobody likes my hair?” Annabelle asked sadly, as they pulled up to Roman’s house.

“They’re going to LOVE your hair,” Dean replied, “Trust me. They’re all probably going to scream and freak out, but it’s a good thing ok? It’s just because no one’s ever seen you without long hair before ok?”

She nodded and then asked, “Are you sure my Daddy won’t be mad?” 

“Of course he won’t be mad,” Dean smiled, “Especially when he sees how wavy your hair got because you cut so much off. It’s kind of like his now.”

“Oh yeah!” She replied, “Ok, let’s go!”

“Get your new swim suit out,” He reminded her, “Or you’ll be swimming in your clothes.”

She giggled, climbing into the backseat, “Should I get everything? We have to show my Daddy your new clothes too, remember?”

Dean ran his hand over his hair, “Yes, ok, grab it all.”

Gemma was the first person to see Dean and Annabelle come into the house. Dean was carrying her, knowing that walking into a house full of people wasn’t her most comfortable atmosphere. 

Immediately, Gemma’s jaw dropped, “Annabelle!” She exclaimed, rushing over to them, “Where’s your, oh my gosh baby, let me see!”

Annabelle, who had hid her face in Dean’s shoulder, turned out to looked at Gemma. Gemma’s bright smile eased Annabelle’s anxiety, especially when Gemma started rambling, “Oh my gosh! Sweetie it looks so cute! It’s so much shorter and it’s curly like your Daddy’s!”

She giggled, “Uh-huh yup.”

“What made you decide to do that?”

“I wanted to,” She replied, “It was too long.”

“They needed some time apart.” Dean smiled.

Annabelle nodded, “Yup.”

“Everyone’s out in the pool,” She explained, “I want to walk down there with you because I HAVE to see Seth’s face.”

“You should video it.” Dean winked.

“I should,” She smiled, poking at Annabelle’s nose, “Oh! I almost forgot,” She said, looking back to Dean, “Charlie’s going to be late, he got held up at work, but he’ll be here.”

Dean nodded, “Ok, sounds good.”

“Who’s Charlie?” Annabelle asked, looking at Dean for answers.

“You’ll meet him later ok?” Dean smiled.

“Ok.” She smiled back.

Things had been going very well with Dean and Charlie. They talked or text every day, and had a couple more meet ups at Roman’s house. The second time they met at Roman’s was when Dean brought up Sebastian. It was no surprise to him that his parents had made up another ridiculous lie about Dean’s decision to adopt. According to them, Dean’s ex left also because Dean wanted to adopt and he did not. Then, Dean did it on his own anyway and they made it sound like it was his worst decision ever. Charlie knew his brother better than that, but for the sake of not arguing with his parents, kept his mouth shut. 

Dean showed Charlie pictures and videos of Sebastian, still a little uneasy about introducing them. There would be a lot of explaining involved, and Dean wasn’t sure how much, and if he was ready for that. The last few weeks had been enough for his brain to compute, he didn’t need more. The decision was made that he’d introduce Charlie to Annabelle and Sebastian at Tatum’s party. Seth would be there, and anyone else he would need would be there too. He knew it would work out.

“Ok you ready?” Gemma asked quietly, just before they walked out the doors to the backyard.

There were various relatives and friends under the deck watching TV, out in the pool, laying out in the sun or hanging with Roman while he grilled. Seth was with Roman, dried off from his pool adventures, still with a towel wrapped around his waist. Roman’s jaw dropped first, before Seth felt a small tap on his back. He turned around to see his daughter smiling brightly, “Hi Daddy.”

Seth’s jaw dropped, “Baby where’s your hair?!”

“I donated it!” She smiled back proudly.

“Wait what?!” He asked, even more confused and shocked.

Roman, who had almost dropped his grilling tongs managed to smile, “It looks FANTASTIC, Shortcake.”

“Thank you, Uncle Roman.” She blushed. 

Dean walked over and put his arm around Seth’s waist, “How about tell your daughter how nice her new haircut looks?” he said quietly into his ear, “Have your meltdown later.” 

“It looks so pretty!” Seth spit out, picking Annabelle up into his arms, “Holy crap.” he said, running his hand over her hair, “It’s really gone.”

She nodded, “Yup. All gone. Do you like it?”

“I love it,” He smiled, “Look how curly it is.” 

“Like yours!” She giggled.

“Exactly,” He smiled, turning to Dean, “So this is what happens when I let you guys go to the mall together?”

“It was an adventure.” He shrugged, giving his boyfriend a smirk.

“Don’t let it happen again,” Roman chuckled, “She’ll come home with another set of earrings.”

“I thought that was my area.” Gemma joked, ending her recording. 

Seth closed his eyes and sighed, trying to disregard the thought, “So tell me about this donating thing.” Seth said to his daughter.

“Oh!” Annabelle smiled, “So because my hair was SO long, I got to donate to kids who don’t have any hair.”

“They use real hair to make wigs for kids who’ve lost their hair.” Dean explained.

“Woah, really?!” He asked her, “That’s so awesome, and that was so thoughtful of you.”

She nodded, “I wanted to help them, it’s not fair for them not to have hair.”

“You’re right,” He replied, “And now there’s someone that will have your pretty hair.”

“CANNONBALL!” Came the distinct sound of Sebastian shouting.

Seth, Dean and Annabelle looked in time to see Sebastian running off the diving board and nailing a cannonball into the water.

“Wait, was that my kid?” Dean asked, completely in shock.

“Yup,” Roman replied, “Someone made the mistake of teaching him how to jump off the diving board, and now he won’t stop.”

“Wait, who?” Dean asked.

Seth chuckled and halfway raised his hand, “My bad.”

“YOU got him to jump off the diving board?!” Dean exclaimed.

“No way.” Gemma said, wide eyed. 

“Um, yeah.” Seth smirked.

“He’s been afraid of that thing forever!” Dean replied, “Holy crap I can’t believe you did that.”

“Sebby made the burgers too,” Gemma smiled, “He’s having a day.”

“He did?!” Dean asked.

Gemma nodded, “Him and Seth, they turned out great.”

“Ok, so what have we learned today?” Roman asked, “You guys need to take each other’s kids out more often.”

Dean and Seth looked at each other as Annabelle giggled, “I like that idea!”

“What are you trying to say?” Seth asked, kissing her cheek.

“Hey AB,” Gemma started, “Tatum’s sitting on the pool steps with her friends, go show her your hair.”

“Ok!” She smiled, wiggling out of Seth’s arms and taking off.

“3-2-1.” Roman counted. The sound of the girls screaming was right in sync, as Tatum, Ericka and Angie screamed over Annabelle’s hair.

“AB! What did you do?!” Tatum asked, climbing from the pool and starting to obsess over her new look, “Oh my God, I love it SO much!”

“You do?!” Annabelle smiled.

“YES!” Ericka and Angie exclaimed from the pool.

“It’s looks SO cute!’ Tatum smiled, “Uncle Dean took you?”

“Uh-huh yup!” She replied, “And I donated my hair too!”

“Aweeeeee.” Came the response from all three girls.

“Are you getting in?” Ericka asked with a smile.

Annabelle nodded, “Yup and I have a new swim suit too!”

“You do?!” Tatum asked.

She nodded, “Yup!”

“Ok, well go change, and we’ll be here ok?”

“Ok!” 

***

 

“Daddy, do you like it?”

Seth tilted his head to the side and examined his daughter’s new swim suit, “Mr. Dean pick that out?”

“He had to like um,” She thought, folding her arms so she could come up with the right words, “He looked at it for a long time and had to decide.”

Seth chuckled. They were standing in Tatum’s room and Annabelle had just gotten out her new clothes to show Seth. He much approved of her new dress, and had no problem with the swim suit.

“How long did Mr. Dean have to decide for?” Seth asked, arching his eyebrow.

She shrugged, “I dunno like 5 hours.”

Seth broke out in laughter with the image of his boyfriend having a serious debate over a swim suit, “Wow, he’s pretty good at his job, huh?”

She nodded, “Yup. Oh! Don’t tell him that I told you, but I got him to buy flamingo pants!”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, “You did what?”

“Flamingo pants!” she answered, digging back into the bag from Old Navy. She found the shorts and held them up, “See?!”

Seth’s eyes widened and he walked over, taking the pants from his daughter, “These are Dean’s?”

“Yup,” She answered, pulling out the matching shirt, “With this. He said that he’ll take them back after you’re done laughing at them.”

Seth smiled, “I really like them.”

“Me too, that’s why I said he should get them! He wasn’t sure, but I talked him into it.”

“Good job Shortcake,” Seth replied, reaching over and giving her a high five, “I love them.”

“Yay!’ She smiled, “But don’t tell him that I showed you, ok?”

“Got it.”

***

Sebastian was so shocked at Annabelle’s hair that he tripped while he was walking over to her, “My Papa took you to get your hair cut?”

“Uh-huh,” She smiled, “Do you like it?”

“Yup,” He answered, “Looks good.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you wanna jump off the diving board with me?”

“Ummmm,” She replied, “I’m going to go sit with Tatum just a little while ok?”

“Ok,” He answered, “I’ve got jumping to do!”

Annabelle watched as he ran back over with Rylan and his cousins to continue swimming. She shrugged, then jumped into the pool herself and swam over to Tatum and the girls.

“Wow you’re a good little swimmer.” Ericka smiled.

“Yeah.” Angie agreed.

“The crazy thing is, we just taught her a few months ago.” Tatum replied, as Annabelle got herself situated on the steps, “She had never swam before a day in her life.”

“Wow, you’re pretty good, huh?” Ericka asked.

She giggled, “I guess so.”

“My kid swims,” Seth said, running his hand over his hair, “I forgot about that.”

“We could go swimming with her.” Dean replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“I need a few more minutes,” Seth smirked, “Catching your kid off a diving board a few times starts to hurt.”

Dean laughed, “Ok.”

Annabelle was listening intently while the three older girls gossiped about everything under the sun. Clothes, teachers, cars, and even boys.

“What makes him cute?” Annabelle asked Ericka, after she listened to her ramble on about a guy in her Chemistry class.

“Well,” She started, “He has really pretty eyes, and he’s not super skinny, so he’s like in the middle kind of, and his hair always looks nice, and he smells super good.”

Annabelle thought for a second, “Does he pick his nose?”

The girls burst out laughing before Ericka answered, “No, he definitely doesn’t.”

“Ok good,” Annabelle replied, “There’s a boy in our class that does it all the time. It’s so gross. You can’t be cute if you pick your nose.”

Tatum was pretty sure she almost drown herself from laughing so hard. Ericka shook her head and smiled, “You’re totally right Annabelle. No nose pickers, ever.”

“Nope.” She giggled.

“So are there any boys that you think are cute?” Angie asked Annabelle.

“Ummmm.” She thought to herself, tapping her chin.

“Noah Balor.” Tatum teased.

Annabelle turned pink and giggled, “Noah’s cute.”

“Who’s cute?!” Seth’s voice startled them.

“No one!” The four of them answered, as Seth and Dean swam over.

“That’s what I thought,” Seth smirked, reaching his arms out towards Annabelle, “Swim with us?”

“Ok!” She exclaimed, jumping from the steps and into Seth’s arms.

The three of them floated out to the middle of the pool, away from the drop zone of the now famous Flying Sebastian.

“When’d you become such a good swimmer, huh?” Seth teased her, as she hung onto his shoulder.

“I dunno.” She giggled.

“I think she’s half fishy.” Dean teased.

Annabelle giggled harder, “I am not a fishy!”

Seth turned and grabbed her, “You’re gonna be a flying fishy.”

Before she knew it, Seth had tossed her over to Dean. Dean caught her, falling back into the water, making her laugh wildly. He tossed her back to Seth, this time getting the attention of Sebastian. He jumped in the water and swam over to them, breaking up the flying Annabelle game. 

“THANK YOU SEBBY!” She giggled over Dean’s shoulder, while he held onto her and floated.

“You’re welcome!” He laughed, while Seth carried him on his back.

“FOOD’S UP!” Roman’s voice echoed. 

“I don’t wanna get out.” Sebastian said over Seth’s shoulder.

“I know dude,” Seth replied, “Let’s go eat, chill out for awhile and then we can get in later. There’s all day tomorrow too, you know we’re spending the night.”

“Oh yeah,” He smiled, before giving Seth a wet kiss on his cheek, “Thank you for teaching me how to jump off the diving board.”

Seth smiled, “You’re welcome dude.”

 

***

 

It was almost time for cake and presents when Charlie arrived at Roman’s house, “Sorry I’m so late.”

“No problem,” Gemma replied, after she let him in, “We’re just happy you made it.”

Seth gave Dean a nudge when he saw Charlie, “Hey, Charlie’s here.”

Dean felt his stomach drop, and casually looked around until he saw him, “Hey.” He waved.

Charlie smiled back and walked over, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Tired,” Dean chuckled, “Long day.”

“Lots of swimming.” Seth added.

“Yeah you guys look like you got some sun today.”

“Definitely.” Dean replied.

Seth gave Dean a small nudge, “Me and Charlie can go out to the sun room, why don’t you grab the kids?”

Dean took a breath, “Right. Ok.”

“I can tell he’s nervous.” Charlie said, as he and Seth headed to the front of the house.

“Yeah a little,” Seth answered, “It’ll be alright though.”

Seth and Charlie sat on the couch, being joined a couple of minutes later by Dean and the kids. Both of them looked at Charlie curiously, knowing that they’d never seen him before. Their first assumptions were that he was a relative of Roman and Gemma’s that they for some reason had never met. Clearly, they were both wrong.

“Brother?” Sebastian asked confused.

“You have a brother?” Annabelle asked, looking up at Dean just as confused.

“Yeah, he does,” Seth replied, “He lived REALLY far away, and he just moved back here.”

“Oooooooh.” Both kids answered.

“Where did you live?” Sebastian asked.

“In Europe,” Charlie smiled, “That’s in a whole different country.”

“Woah.” He replied, with his eyes wide.

“Um, so because you were SO far away, that’s why we’ve never met you?” Annabelle asked.

“Exactly.” Charlie replied.

“Do you have any other brothers too? Or sisters?” Sebastian asked Dean.

Dean shook his head and gave his son a small smirk, “Nah. Just one.”

“How come you moved back here?” Annabelle asked.

“I didn’t like the weather over there,” Charlie lied, clearly prepared for whatever the kids would ask, “It’s nice and warm here. I’d rather be warm.”

“Do you like to swim?” Sebastian asked.

“Swimming’s really fun, I definitely like it.”

“What about soccer?” Annabelle asked.

“My FAVORITE,” Charlie smiled, “It’s REALLY popular in Europe.”

“Cool!” Sebastian smiled, “We play soccer, we really like it too.”

“Maybe um, you can play later with us.” Annabelle smiled.

“I would like that, very much.”

They were interrupted by Gemma calling for everyone to come into the kitchen to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. Sebastian took off running, but Annabelle stayed and looked at Seth, “Daddy, um, do you have any brothers or sisters that live anywhere else? That I’ll get to meet when they move here?”

“Shit…” Dean said under his breath. Out of every single last thing that he thought the kids could ask, that was the one thing that he never thought of. He knew Seth didn’t either.

“No baby,” Seth said, faking the best smile he could, “Just me.”

“Oh, that’s ok too,” She smiled, “I just wanted to be ready if you did.”

“They’re going to start singing.” Dean said, knowing it would shoot Annabelle right out of the room.

After she was gone, Charlie could immediately tell something was wrong, “Are you guys ok?”

“It’s uh, it’s nothing,” Dean said, looking to his brother, “Nothing that has to do with you, or them, or…fuck….”

“I got it,” He replied, giving Dean a reassuring look, “I’ll be in the kitchen, just let me know when we can finish talking.”

Dean nodded with an appreciative look to Charlie as he left the room. Immediately he put his arms around Seth’s waist, “You ok?”

Seth nodded, holding onto Dean’s arms, “Didn’t see that coming.”

“Me either,” Dean replied, leaving a kiss on his forehead, “I really thought I had come up with everything, but I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault baby.” He replied, resting his forehead against Dean’s. 

“Your kid is the daughter of a smarty pants,” Dean joked, “Leave it to her to have the tough questions.”

Seth pulled away and looked at him, “First, very cute. Second, can we stop with calling Annabelle ‘my’ kid, and Sebby ‘your’ kid? They’re ours. Unless you see it differently than I do.”

Dean couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, “I mean…I did go swim suit shopping today, and did a hair cut, and let her pick out clothes for me. She’s definitely mine.”

Seth smiled back, “You have NO idea how bad I wanna see you in those flamingo shorts.”

His face fell, “She told you?”

“Shhhhh,” he hissed, giving him a small kiss, “You’re not supposed to know that I know. She’s so excited about it.”

He arched his eyebrow, “You excited to see me in them, or you just want the show while I’m trying them on?”

Seth wiggled his eyebrows, “Both.”

***

The end result of Charlie meeting the kids turned out to be fantastic. After all of the hoopla from birthday cake and presents was over, the kids had fun getting to know him. They kicked the soccer ball around the backyard for awhile, and he helped them make s’mores on Roman’s fire pit. Dean was more than relieved after it was all said and done. At the end of the night, the only thing he could think about was flamingo shorts.

***

“I’m warning you, Shortcake,” Tatum said firmly, “This is REALLY scary ok?”

“I got it.” Annabelle answered.

The girls were all on the couch together, getting ready to watch “IT”. Despite the warnings from the girls, Annabelle was determined to watch it with them.

“Don’t worry,” She said, “I got through a tornado on the Wizard of Oz, and the flying monkeys. I can handle this.”

“Jesus Christ,” Tatum muttered to herself, “Ok, here we go.”

 

***

“I think that’s the best outfit I’ve ever seen you in,” Seth smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching Dean do a little dance in his new flamingo shorts, “The pink shirt is perfect too.”

“Thank your-- I mean -our- daughter.” He smiled.

Seth chuckled, “I think she needs to take you shopping more often.”

“Don’t get any ideas.”

***

“Run.” Annabelle whispered, holding the blanket up so that it was almost covering her eyes.

“Go! Go!” Ericka cried out, eyes wide while she watched the screen.

“RUN STUPID!” Annabelle yelled, “HE’S RIGHT THERE!”

Angie buried her face into the pillow while Tatum held on to Annabelle, “Oh my God,” Tatum said, “He’s going to get him!”

“Get away from him you stupid meanie clown!” Annabelle yelled, “You’re ugly!”

“I can’t look!” Ericka cried out, covering her face.

When the scene was over, everyone was hiding their faces but Annabelle. She looked around at them and shook her head, “Wimps.”

***

 

“Sometimes, I think that Dean is my favorite drunk.” Gemma giggled.

Roman chuckled, while he and his wife relaxed on the patio swing. The party was long over, everything was cleaned up and they finally got to wind down. The kids had been asleep since around midnight, except for maybe Ericka who was still scared shitless from the movie.

Roman wanted Dean and Seth to have a good time and relax that day. He knew how hard they both worked and in the same breath had to chase around two kids. They were both surprised when Roman walked up to them earlier that night with a beer and a shot for both of them, “Have fun, we’ll handle the kids.” He smirked.

Now Seth and Dean were laying in the grass, laughing over nothing important. Still in their swim suits, they poked each other until Seth grabbed Dean and rolled on to him.

“Ok, time to go.” Gemma laughed, while Roman shook his head and stood up.

“Hey!” He yelled, “No fucking on my lawn!”

“Babe!” Gemma exclaimed, swatting at his arm.

“What about the neighbor’s lawn?!” Dean called back.

“Jesus Christ,” Roman sighed, before yelling back to him, “Don’t get caught! I’m not boosting you out of jail!”

“Aweeeeeee,” Dean whined, “You’re no fun.”

Roman just shook his head and walked to the house with his wife.

After a long make out session on the grass, Dean was struck by an idea. That’s exactly how he and Seth ended up in the hot tub on the lower deck.

“Shhhh,” Seth hissed, turning off the lights inside and around the tub, “You’re so loud.” He giggled, sitting down in the corner seat.

“Am not,” Dean shined, moving himself over to straddle Seth’s lap.

“What,” Seth giggled, “Are you doing?”

“What’s it look-look like?” He asked, grinding down on Seth’s lap.

“Deeeeee,” He said in a partial moan, “God dammnnnn.”

“Whattttt,” He replied, running his palms up and down Seth’s chest. He leaned in and sucked on Seth’s nipples, one at a time causing Seth to moan and grind up against him. He held the back of Dean’s head while he sucked mark after mark on his chest.

“Baby, stop,” Seth groaned, as some sense of reality stayed with him, “Let’s go upstairs.”

“Noooooooo.”

“C’mon,” he laughed, “Roman won’t let us fuck on his lawn, he’s definitely not letting us to do it here.”

“He’s asleeeeeeeep.”

“Upstairs,” Seth replied, “Pleaseeeee.”

“Fine.”

***

“Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm.” Annabelle hummed to herself the next morning, while she helped Roman put the whipped cream on the last of his ‘smiley face pancakes’. 

“Perfect!” He smiled, handing her a plate to carry, while he carried the others.

Wide eyed, Sebastian and Rylan smiled at the giant pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate chips for eyes, noises and mouths.

“They look yummy!” Sebastian smiled, reaching for his fork.

“Morning guys.” Dean yawned, as he walked into the kitchen with Seth.

Roman eyed them up for a second, “How are you two even conscious right now?”

Gemma giggled, “And fully dressed.”

Dean and Seth looked at each other and back to Roman and Gemma, “No idea.”

“Your pancakes are on the stove, just add your toppings.” Roman said.

Dean’s eyebrows raised, “Smiley face?!”

“Yup!” Sebastian and Annabelle replied, as they chomped away at theirs.

The sounds of screams from upstairs immediately stopped everyone in their tracks, “OH MY GOD!” Tatum shrieked.

“What the…” Roman started, getting up and heading for the stairs, “Tatum!” he yelled up, “What’s going on?!”

“GET IT!” Angie’s voice echoed.

“What the fuck?” Dean asked, following as Roman headed up the stairs.

Meanwhile, at the table, a certain six year old was fighting hard to keep a straight face. Gemma looked to Annabelle, “Shortcake, what’s up?”

Annabelle giggled to herself, “Nothing.”

“RYLAN!” Roman shouted, heading back into the kitchen and holding the string to a red balloon.

“What?” Rylan asked, completely surprised.

Roman raised his eyebrows at his son, while Dean tried his best not to burst out laughing.

“You know what,” Roman replied, “You scared the hell out of them.”

“But I didn’t do it!” Rylan exclaimed, his heart starting to race.

“So you mean to tell me,” Roman started, “That you weren’t the one who took this red balloon and tied it on the inside of Tatum’s doorknob?”

“No!” He cried out.

“It’s a little too convenient that they JUST watched ‘IT’ last night, and there was a red balloon tied to the door knob. C’mon Rylan, why are you putting on a game right now?”

“Dad, I swear, I PROMISE, it WASN’T me! I would totally own up to something like that, it’s hilarious!” Rylan explained.

Roman looked around the kitchen at everyone, “Ok, so who was it then?”

Everyone looked around puzzled, until Dean noticed that Annabelle had her hand over her mouth and was bright pink, “Shortcake. No way.”

With the most innocent look she could produce, so uncovered her mouth and gave Dean a smile. His eyes widened, “No way. You did that?!”

She nodded and smirked, causing Dean to burst out laughing, “That’s awesome!”

“Dean!” Roman, Gemma and Seth scolded at the same time, while Rylan and Sebastian laughed.

“That wasn’t very nice, Annabelle.” Seth said to her.

Immediately she pouted and looked back down at her pancakes. Sebastian gave Seth a small glare, “She didn’t do it to be mean. It was a joke. AB would NEVER be mean to anyone on purpose.”

Seth and Dean were taken off guard by Sebastian’s response, but before they could answer, the girls came downstairs.

“Very cute,” Tatum smirked at Rylan with a small glare, “I’ll get you back.”

“But it wasn’t me!” Rylan exclaimed.

“Yeah right,” Angie replied, rolling her eyes, “Who was it then? Annabelle?” she asked sarcastically.

“Well…” Roman smirked.

Tatum’s face fell, and she looked at Annabelle, “Wait, it was you?!”

Both kids started giggling, as Tatum, Ericka and Angie’s jaws dropped, “You did that?!” Ericka asked.

“It was a good one,” Rylan said, “You have to give her that.”

Tatum give her a fake glare, “I’ll get you my pretty.”

“And you’re little Sebastian too!” Ericka giggled.

“You will not!” Both of them giggled back.

Seth nudged Dean, “Ok, so now they’re sticking up for each other, against the adults. I don’t know how I feel about this.”

Dean shook his head a little and then shrugged, “I mean…yeah I have no idea.”

“Well, this is going to be a fun new adventure.”

“Always is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys thought about this one! How did Dean and Seth do with swapping kids for the day? :) Comments are appreciated SOOOO much! Thanks!


	24. Spring Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving along to Springtime!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So sorry that I haven't updated in awhile, I really had some killer writers block. I hope this is alright!

Another couple of months sailed by right into April. Roman and Gemma were now in denial after Rylan’s birthday and they realized that they were officially raising TWO teenagers now. Easter was right around the corner, exciting Annabelle and Sebastian beyond belief. Easter meant the Easter Bunny and the Easter Bunny meant candy. It also meant a refrigerator covered in pictures and Easter themed class activities that both kids brought him from school.

Dean tilted his head to the side while examining a picture on the fridge, “I think that bunny is breathing fire.”

Seth glanced up from the counter where he was looking at his lap top, “What baby?”

He pulled the paper off the fridge and handed it to Seth, “The bunny. He’s breathing fire.”

Seth studied the blue bunny that Annabelle had colored and then burst into laughter, “He’s eating a carrot, not breathing fire!”

“What?!” Dean exclaimed, taking the picture back from him, “No way, he’s definitely breathing fire.”

Shaking his head, Seth replied, “Baby get your eyes checked.”

“How is that a carrot?!” He continued to argue with a smile.

“How about we ask her later, ok?” 

“Fine.” He smirked, walking over and putting it back on the fridge.

“Sebby is really good at coloring,” Seth pointed out, “Like REALLY good.”

Dean looked at some of Sebastian’s work and nodded, “Yeah he is. Pretty cool. I couldn’t color in the lines to save my life.”

“You still can’t.” Seth teased.

Dean’s eyes widened and he darted for Seth, causing him to giggle while he grabbed at his hips, “Smart ass.” He smiled, turning Seth back first into the counter. He had his arms around him and grinded against him.

Seth chuckled, “Can I help you?”

“Yes. I need help, I haven’t gotten your dick in 8 hours and I need more now.”

Seth wiggled his eyebrows, “Well, when you put it that way…” 

***

 

For Sebastian and Annabelle, things were going quite well. As Miss Morgan had strongly suggested, they did make new friends. Some of them were from their class, and others they met through Noah. They were especially good friends with Amelia Alexander. They played together on the playground every day and had play dates at each others house almost every weekend.

One thing remained the same though. Their best friends were still each other and their dads. In their eyes, Seth and Dean could save the world if needed. They made everything better, no matter how hard it was and they could tell them ANYTHING. 

Today, school was fun for Annabelle and Sebastian. They got extra time at recess and got to paint in art class. They also found out that Benny Owens got in trouble again, and had to moved to a different school. 

When school let out, both of them were walking to their school bus and talking to Noah about soccer. Then something odd caught Annabelle’s attention. 

“What’s that?” She asked, peering towards the flagpole where a few kids and parents were gathered.

Sebastian shrugged and continued towards the school bus.

“Sebby, let’s go look real quick!” She said, tugging on his backpack.

“Ok, ok.” He replied, rolling his eyes.

When they got closer, they saw that there was a cardboard box on the ground in front of the flag pole. 

“It’s a box.” Sebastian said.

Upon further inspection, Annabelle gasped, “Puppies!”

“What?!” Sebastian exclaimed.

She nodded and both of them wiggled their way between the small crowd to get a better look. There, in the box sat a group of 4 Labrador puppies, looking to be about 8 weeks old. Two of them were black, one was white and one was chocolate. They were pawing at the sides of the box for any attention that they could get. Annabelle and Sebastian watched as one of their classmates convinced her mother to let her take one.

“It’s like Duke the dog!” Annabelle said to Sebastian, pointing at the black lab, “But a baby!”

He nodded, as Noah walked over, “Wow!” he said, wide eyed, “Where did they come from?”

Sebastian shrugged, “They were just here!”

“It says ‘FREE’ on the side of the box,” Noah pointed, “My dads have been talking about getting a dog, maybe I should take one.”

Annabelle turned to Sebastian, “Us too?”

He nodded, “We can’t just leave them here.” he said firmly.

“Ok,” Annabelle started, “This is what we’re going to do…”

In less than a minute, Sebastian emptied his backpack into Annabelle’s. He then picked up the puppy black lab and with the help of Noah, comfortably slid him into his now empty backpack, “Ok, little doggie, you just stay right there.”

“Ok got it,” Noah said, after he wrapped the chocolate lab puppy in his hoodie, “Just act cool.”

Both of them nodded, before Annabelle looked back just in time to see the last puppy being taken by another adult. She smiled contently, then hurried to catch up with the boys. 

***

Seth was out of the shower first, quickly changing and running downstairs to the front door. He made it out onto the porch just in time to see the school bus dropping the kids off. Letting out a sigh of relief, he walked down to the end of the drive way to wait for them, “Hey guys!” he smiled.

“Hi!” They both smiled innocently.

Seth raised his eyebrow, “What did you do?”

“Nothing.” They answered in unison.

“Uh huh,” He replied, starting towards the house with them, “Sure.”

Seth somehow didn’t notice the small nose that was sticking out of Sebastian’s backpack. Instead he headed inside with them, hoping Dean had gotten himself together. 

“Hey!” Dean called from the kitchen, “How was school?”

“Good!” Annabelle smiled, as they walked in. 

“Anything happen today?” Dean asked from behind the counter where he stood.

Sebastian nodded, just as Annabelle blurted out, “We have to tell you something.” 

“Yup.” Sebastian agreed, while Annabelle helped him carefully take his backpack off.

“Um, so after school today,” Annabelle began to explain, while she unzipped Sebastian’s backpack, “There was a box at the flagpole, and it said ‘free’ on it, and when we got up to it we saw…” she stopped, and pulled the black lab puppy out of the backpack and held him in her arms, “Him.”

Dean and Seth’s jaws dropped at the same time, “That’s a puppy.” Dean said, in shock.

Sebastian nodded, “Yeah, Papa it is.”

Seth laughed at him, before getting an elbow from Dean, “Seth they have a puppy! A real one!”

“Yes, I see that.” Seth smirked.

Dean looked to the kids, “Let me see if I get this straight. At the flagpole there was a box that had a puppy in it?”

“There was four of them.” Sebastian replied.

“Oh my God, you don’t have them too, do you?” Dean asked, as his heart dropped.

Annabelle shook her head, “No, other people took them too. Noah put one in his hoodie and brought him home too.”

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose while Seth looked on humored at his boyfriend’s reaction, “The box said ‘free’?” Seth asked them, “Then you took that one, put him in Sebby’s backpack and brought him home?”

“Yup.” They answered, as the puppy began licking Annabelle’s cheek.

“Can we keep him PLEASE?!” Sebastian asked, “Pretty please?”

“We had to help him,” Annabelle added, “We couldn’t just leave him there. What if no one else wanted him?”

Seth looked at Dean who smirked back at him, “You know, having a puppy is a HUGE responsibility, right?” Dean asked the kids.

“Uh huh!” Sebastian replied.

Annabelle cradled the puppy in her arms and nodded, “Uh-huh yep!”

“Everyone is going to have to help,” Seth explained firmly, “With feeding him, walking him, paying good attention to him, and training him. Do you understand?”

“Yes!” They both answered, Annabelle handing the puppy over to Sebastian, “He’s getting heavy.”

“Ok.” Sebastian replied, securing the puppy in his arms. The puppy immediately began licking Sebastian’s face, causing him to giggle. 

“They’re like a mom and dad already.” Seth chuckled to Dean.

Dean smirked, walking over and crouching down in front of them. He pretended to be intensely studying the puppy in Sebastian’s arms, “Hm. Interesting little fella.”

“Do you like him?” Sebastian asked, looking at him hopeful.

Smiling, Dean gently poked the puppy’s nose, “Yeah he seems pretty cool. I guess we can keep him.”

The excited reaction that came out of Sebastian and Annabelle could have easily blown the windows out of the house. As Dean tried to regain his hearing, Seth brought over a bowl of water for their newest family member, “We have to go shopping for him. He needs food and stuff.”

“Yeah we do!” Annabelle replied.

Dean took the puppy from his son, then cradled him in his arms upside down, “Well then,” he said, examining the dog, “Looks like HE is a SHE.”

“She’s a girl?!” Annabelle cried out.

“She is.” Dean smiled.

“I’m not the only girl anymore!” She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Dean and Sebastian laughed while Seth smiled, “So what are we naming her?”

“Oh,” Annabelle said, calming down and looking at Sebastian, “I don’t know.”

“Hmmmm,” Sebastian thought, petting the puppy on her head, “I don’t know any good girl names for a dog.”

Dean glanced around the kitchen for any type of inspiration. He smiled when he saw the candy on the counter top, “What about Tootsie?”

“Tootsie?!” Annabelle and Sebastian exclaimed with smiles.

“Like a Tootsie Roll,” Dean explained, “You like it?” 

“Yes!” They both answered.

“It’s cute.” Seth agreed.

Dean rubbed her stomach and smiled, “Well, hello there Tootsie.”

Seth’s phone ringing, pulled his attention away. He answered the Face Time from Finn, but was greeted by a chocolate lab puppy face on the other end.

“Hey!” Finn said, from behind the puppy, “Did you get one of these from school today too?”

Seth laughed, Dean walking over to see what was going on, “Awe! He’s so cute!”

“Yeah! My husband seems to think so as well. I didn’t even get say in it, and now I have a dog.”

“Did you name him?” Dean chuckled.

“Not yet,” He replied, adjusting the phone so that he was actually looking at Dean and Seth, “You guys want to meet us at the pet store in a few minutes? I don’t know about you, but we don’t have anything dog related in our house.”

“Not a single thing,” Dean replied, “We’ll see you there then.”

****

Annabelle took her job as the puppy holder very seriously. She was sitting in the cart with Noah’s puppy and Tootsie in her lap, while Dean pushed them through the pet store. Sami and Seth also carts, that were being loading up with pet supplies and food for both dogs. 

“Which ones do you like, AB?” Sebastian asked, when they stopped in the aisle that with collars and leashes.

“Hmmmm,” She said, looking at the selection, “What about the pink one with the flower on it?”

Sebastian studied it for a moment, then looked at Tootsie and back to the collar, “Yeah, she definitely needs this one.”

“She needs it?” Finn asked with a smile, “It’s that important, huh?”

“It’s really pretty and girlie,” Sebastian replied, handing the collar to Annabelle, “She has to look good, you know.”

Finn looked at Dean, trying his best not to burst into laughter at how serious Sebastian was about the collar. Dean shrugged and looked at his son, “Grab the leash that matches ok?”

“Ok!” He replied.

“What are you reading, Noah?” Dean asked him, noticing he had picked a book up.

Noah looked up from the book, “It’s a book of dog names.”

“See any good ones?” Finn asked.

He glanced back down and then looked to his Dad, “Moose. He’s brown and he’s going to be huge.”

Sebastian immediately giggled, “I like that!”

“It’s cute!” Annabelle agreed, “Moosie-Moose.”

Finn looked down at the dog in Annabelle’s lap, “Moose, do you like that?”

His only response was a yawn, before he snuggled into Tootsie and fell asleep.

“That means yes.” Annabelle smiled.

“I like it,” Sami said “It’s very fitting.”

Noah nodded, “Very.”

***

 

The rest of the evening consisted of a lot of work to get Tootsie settled in to her new home. Two training crates were set up, one in Seth and Dean’s room, and another downstairs in the living room. Tootsie now had a food and a water bowl, both pink with white paw prints pattered on them. The kids carefully picked out a small variety of toys for her as well. The final part came when it was bath time. Tootsie found herself in the tub happily getting soaped up and then rinsed.

“She likes it!” Annabelle giggled, as Tootsie splashed around in the water.

“She’s swimming!” Sebastian smiled.

Dean and Seth chuckled, then emptied the tub and wrapped Tootsie in a towel. After blow drying her, they put her new collar on her and she began to run around excitedly. Sebastian grabbed her new toy teddy and let her play with it, giggling while he watched her roll around.

“Guys, we still got homework.” Seth reminded them, not wanting to be the buzz kill.

“Can Tootsie do homework with us?” Annabelle asked.

“Tootsie’s going to wander around a little and get used to her new house ok? You two need to do your homework.”

Sebastian sighed, “Ok.”

To their surprise, Tootsie laid down under the table where Sebastian and Annabelle’s sat. She didn’t move until both kids were done their homework. They went outside and ran around with her, letting her explore the backyard. Then came the distinct sound of the next door neighbor’s dog barking.

“Oh no!” Sebastian growled, “That stupid mutt!”

“Sebby don’t be mean.” Annabelle frowned.

Tootsie took off running to the fence that divided the two backyards. When the neighbor’s dog met Tootsie there, he stopped barking. Instead they both tried to see each other through the fence boards. 

“Hey there!” Their next door neighbor, Mr. Cesaro called as he walked over.

“Hi!” Annabelle and Sebastian replied with matching smiles.

“Is this little guy yours?” He asked, motioning to Tootsie.

“Yes!” Sebastian replied.

“Her name is Tootsie!” Annabelle added, excitedly.

“Looks like she likes Pascal,” Cesaro said, picking up his brown and white Corgi into his arms, “Maybe they can be friends.”

“With that barker?!” Sebastian exclaimed.

Annabelle swatted at him, “He’s not barking now!”

Cesaro chuckled, “Pascal only barks because he wants attention or to say hi. He likes to be pet, then he shuts up.”

“Ohhhhhhhhh.” Sebastian answered.

“We told you.” Dean chuckled, walking up with Seth next to him.

Sebastian shrugged a little bit, while Seth and Dean started chatting with Cesaro. He handed Pascal over the fence to them, then watched while he and Tootsie played together. 

“Wow, they’re like best friends.” Annabelle said, watching them chase each other around.

Sebastian smiled, “They look like they’re having fun.”

“Maybe they’ll fall in love.” Annabelle smiled.

“AB,” Sebastian said, turning to her, “Tootsie is still a puppy. She’s not allowed to have a boyfriend yet.”

“Oh,” She replied, “Well, maybe when she’s a grown up dog.”

“Did that conversation just happen?” Dean asked Seth, while Cesaro tried not to laugh.

“It did.” Seth chuckled.

“At least they’re being responsible parents.” Cesaro smiled to them.

Dean shook his head a little and grinned, “Well. There’s that. 

 

***

Tootsie had herself glued to Annabelle and Sebastian that entire night. It amazed Dean and Seth a little, that Tootsie was at their side no matter where they went. At bedtime, Seth carried Tootsie up the steps when she began whining because she couldn’t do it herself. She whined again when she couldn’t get onto Sebastian’s bed with him.

Dean picked her up and gave her a small kiss, “It’s bedtime Tootsie. You’re going to come sleep in our room.”

“In the crate?” Sebastian asked quietly from where he laid on his bed.

“Sebby, she has to learn how to sleep in there,” Dean explained, “When we aren’t home, or we’re asleep she can’t just wander around by herself.”

“Oh.” He replied, absorbing the explanation.

“But Daddy what if Tootsie gets lonely all by herself in her crate?” Annabelle asked sadly, while Seth tucked her into bed.

“Or scared.” Sebastian added.

“We’ll make sure that she’s ok,” Dean reassured, “Ok?”

“Promise?” Annabelle and Sebastian asked in unison.

“Promise.” They answered.

***

“Stop. Stop being so cute. I’m dying of cuteness.”

Dean was laying on his bed with Tootsie resting on his stomach, “Ok seriously. If dying of cuteness was really a thing, I’d be a goner. Why are you so cute?” Dean smiled, scratching behind her ear.

“Why are you so cute?” Seth teased Dean from next to him, where he sat using his laptop.

Dean smirked at his boyfriend, “Funny.”

“I know,” he replied, looking up from the screen, “We should probably take her outside again before we go to sleep.”

“You are probably right.” Dean replied.

Seth closed his laptop and stretched his arms, “Ok, let’s go.”

When Dean’s phone rang, it stopped both of them from climbing off the bed. His eyes widened when he realized who it was, “Rocco I’m sorry,” He said as he answered, “I’ll do it right now, ok?”

Seth smiled and shook his head slightly. Dean was supposed to email Rocco some spreadsheets that evening and clearly he forgot. He slid his laptop over to his boyfriend in exchange for the puppy and then got up, to take her outside. 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Dean said while Rocco gave him an earful, “Give me a minute, Seth’s laptop is right in front of me.” 

“Oh, you took over his computer too?” Rocco chuckled.

“Yeah, I always email him stuff as a backup,” he answered, scrolling through his emails to find the one he needed, “Ok got it. I’m going to forward it from his email.”

“It better not accidentally be something I shouldn’t be seeing.” He answered teasingly.

“Nah,” Dean smirked, “That stuff’s on my ipad.”

“Gesu Cristo.” Rocco breathed.

“I heard that.” Dean chuckled, as he sent the email, “Ok it’s on the way, boss.”

“Grazie, boss.”

“Later man.” Dean said, ending the call with Rocco. 

Still in Seth’s email, Dean clicked out of the folder that was designated for his work items. It went back to his inbox, where Seth still had an email opened. Dean didn’t mean to look at it. Honestly. But his eyes just ran across one line of it, and he couldn’t help continuing.

“Purrazzo?” He said to himself, wide eyed while he skimmed the email, “Holy shit Seth.”

The email was from an admin at Purrazzo University, a top school that was hours away. They were offering him a job at their school starting the next school year. Dean’s eyes almost jumped out of his head when he saw how much money that they were offering Seth. His eyes jumped further as he scrolled down to read Seth’s reply. 

Seth declined the offer. He explained to the school admin that he wasn’t in a position to where he was able to relocate. There were a couple more responses, Purrazzo REALLY wanted Seth to come teach there. When Dean heard Seth’s footsteps coming down the hallway, he quickly closed the laptop.

“Ok Toots, it’s bedtime.” Seth said, crouching down and putting her into her new crate. It was very cozy, lined with pillows and blankets for her. Sebastian made sure to include a few of her toys as well. 

“Go to sleep, ok?” Seth asked her, as he closed the door.

Tootsie walked a few circles around the cage before she sat down. Seth continued to watch her, until he realized that she wasn’t going to sleep if she knew he was still there. He climbed off the floor and hopped onto the bed, “That was successful. I think.” he smirked, laying down next to where Dean was sitting.

When Dean glanced down, Seth immediately knew that something wrong. Did he and Rocco disagree about something? Did something happen at the store? 

“What’s going on baby?” Seth asked softly.

Dean swallowed hard, “I promise, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Seth arched his eyebrow, “You sound like one of the kids right now.”

Dean sighed, “When I was done forwarding Rocco that spreadsheet, I saw something I probably shouldn’t have.”

Seth looked at him concerned, “Like what?”

Dean looked down, “Your offer from Purrazzo.”

Seth’s heart clenched. He didn’t want Dean to know about the offer right away, specifically because he knew what it might unintentionally do to him, “Baby, I turned it down.”

“I know. I saw that. But, it’s Purrazzo, they’re huge and in the top…”

“I know that,” Seth interrupted, “But they’re also five hours away.”

Dean sighed, “What if I wasn’t in the picture? Would you still have turned them down?”

Seth nodded, “I promised AB that we were never moving again. We’re not.”

“I just,” He started, running his hand over his hair, “They were giving you so much money and that school is outstanding.”

“C’mere.” Seth said, reaching his arms out to his boyfriend.

Seth knew exactly where Dean’s mind was, and it made his stomach turn. It was EXACTLY why he didn’t want Dean to know about it yet. As soon as Dean laid down and was in his arms, he began to whisper in his ear, “No credential or amount of money is more important to me than you are. I didn’t want to tell you until after the school year was over, and the deadlines were done. I didn’t want you to worry that I was going to suddenly change my mind. I know where your head goes baby, I was trying to keep it from happening.”

“I’m sorry,” he answered into Seth’s chest, “I just…”

“I know,” Seth reassured softly, “I’m never leaving you, ok?”

Dean nodded into him, sighing softly, “Did you get any other ones too?”

“Regal.”

Dean’s head shot up, “Regal?!”

Seth chuckled, “Yes.”

“And you had to turn them down too?” Dean asked sadly.

“They’re four hours away,” Seth replied, “So yes, and it’s not a big deal. I like where I’m at, I don’t need another job, even if it’s for more than I’m making now. That doesn’t mean shit to me. I’m not leaving you, ok?”

Dean glanced down and sighed, “I shouldn’t need you to reassure me of that at this point. I should be happy that you got offers, and not reacting like this. I just….I hate…I hate that it happens like this.”

Seth hated it too. He truly did. But it wasn’t Dean’s fault, and there wasn’t an ounce in Seth that ever would put blame on him for it. He hated the person who did this to Dean, who made him question himself, and subconsciously fear that Seth would leave him. 

He tugged Dean back down into his arms and held him securely, “Listen to me ok?” he asked, kissing the side of his forehead, “You can’t help it, and I know that. It’s like a switch flips, and your mind goes somewhere that it shouldn’t. It’s not your fault, you didn’t do anything to make it happen, you don’t do it on purpose. I know that, and I will never forget that. You hearing me?”

Dean nodded against Seth’s shoulder, keeping his arm across Seth’s waist.

“Everything’s alright baby, there’s nothing to worry about, I promise, alright?” Seth asked, “It’s not your choice, it happens on reaction. It’ll stop one day, but today wasn’t that day, alright?”

“You really think it will?”

“I know it will,” he replied confidently, “You’ll see, I promise.”

Dean gave him a small look of relief, “Ok.”

Seth leaned in and gave him a small kiss, hoping it would relax him some. The kisses continued, Dean falling right into them, gripping onto his boyfriend tightly. With a small smirk, and hopes of making Dean smile, Seth broke the kiss and looked at him, “I do have a problem though.”

Dean’s face fell, “What?”

With a twinkle in his eye, Seth answered, “It’s been like 8 hours since I’ve had your ass.”

The laugh that escaped Dean was exactly what Seth was hoping for. Seth smiled at him, watching as he crawled over and turned off the lamp, “Let’s fix that.”

 

***

 

For Miss Morgan, expecting the unexpected was almost a part of her daily routine. She could never predict what situations she would help her students tackle on any particular day. She decided that once she retired that she would write a book about everything she had seen in her profession. Just when she thinks she’s handled it all, something new with a student will pop up. On this particular Friday in May, it would be two of her favorite students coming to her with an uncomfortable situation.

Sitting in her office, Miss Morgan was checking emails when a small knock came from the opened door. Looking up, she was surprised to see Annabelle and Sebastian. Annabelle had a disgruntled look on her face, while Sebastian looked at her concerned.

“Hey guys,” She smiled, “Come on in, is everything ok?”

Annabelle shook her head and walked inside with Sebastian behind her. Miss Morgan immediately assumed there had to be bullying involved somehow. She was very surprised to learn the actual reason for their visit. Both kids climbed onto the couch, while Miss Morgan sat in the fuzzy chair in front of them, “What’s going on?” she asked, giving them her undivided attention.

“I don’t wanna do the stupid Mother’s Day craft,” Annabelle frowned, with tears threatening, “It’s stupid, and I don’t want to!”

“Ok, ok,” Miss Morgan replied calmly, trying to keep Annabelle from a meltdown, “Just relax, there’s no need to be upset. We’ll figure this out.”

Holidays were always incorporated into schoolwork at Annabelle and Sebastian’s age. They had done various drawings, worksheets, coloring pages, art crafts and read books for upcoming holidays. Annabelle had absolutely no idea that Mother’s Day would be included. She was devastated.

“Sebastian,” Miss Morgan started, “Do you remember what you did last year, when it was time to make a Mother’s Day craft?”

Sebastian thought for a minute and shook his head, “I don’t remember.”

She gave him a reassuring grin, “You went with another class to the art room and you painted.”

“I did?” He asked, surprised.

“Yeah, you did,” She answered, “There are kids in our school who don’t have Mommy’s, besides you two and Noah. Did you know that?”

“I guess so,” He answered, “But we don’t know them.”

“Well, now you know,” she winked, “Those kids can choose what to do while the rest of the class does their craft. Just like in June when it’s time to do a Father’s Day craft, it works the same way for kids without a Daddy. Does that make sense?”

“It does.” Annabelle replied.

“Let me ask you both a question,” Miss Morgan started, “I want you to think really hard ok?”

“Ok, we will.” Sebastian replied, ready for anything she was going to say. 

“Is there ANYONE you can think of, who is almost like a Mommy to you? That takes care of you, and does things with you like a Mommy might?”

Without hesitation they both answered, “Aunt Gemma.”

Miss Morgan’s eyes lit up, “Perfect,” She smiled, “What do you think about doing the Mother’s Day craft for her then?”

Sebastian and Annabelle looked at each other in excitement, “Ok!”

“See?” She asked, “Nothing to be upset about right?”

“Nope,” Sebastian replied, “Nothing at all.”

***

Dean was sitting at the counter at his store when his phone notification went off with an email. In his office at school, Seth was going over a study guide when he received an email himself. Both of them opened the email, finding that it was from Miss Morgan,

“Good morning to both of you, I hope that this email finds you both well! I just had Annabelle and Sebastian in my office, and wanted to keep you in the loop. Today their classes are doing a craft for Mother’s Day. Annabelle was very upset, while Sebastian seemed more concerned about it. After talking to both of them about it, we decided that they would do the craft with their class for their Aunt Gemma. Both of them were calmed down and much happier after our chat. They are back in class now, and I’ll be sitting in while they do their crafts later today. If you have any concerns, please feel free to reply or call.  
Have a great day,  
Liv Morgan”

 

Dean put his face in his hand, “Shit.”

“Fuck.” Seth breathed, reading over the email two more times.

Sure, the situation had been taken care of. But at the same time, it was a reminder to Seth and Dean that one day their kids were going to start asking. One day they’ll want to know why they’re different, and why they don’t know their Mommy. 

Dean called Seth before Seth had the chance. He answered by asking, “Why’s this happening?”

“I don’t know,” Dean sighed, spinning a spoon around on the counter top, “I don’t think we should bring it up, unless they do first ok?”

“Yeah I think you’re right,” Seth agreed, “That’s nice they’re making something for Gemma though.”

“Yeah it is. She’ll flip shit and love it.”

Seth smiled, “Which will make the kids love it more.”

“Exactly.”

“I think we’re ok right now,” Dean replied, “It seems like they liked what Miss Morgan said, so that’s good.”

“She’s amazing, she really is.”

“I’ll email her back in a minute, let her know that we got the email and stuff.”

“Sounds good baby. I gotta go or I’ll be late ok?”

“How many more days until school’s out?” Dean smirked.

“Four.” Seth smiled.

“Counting down.”

“Ha,” Seth chuckled, “You’re telling me.”

“Yeah yeah. Go teach something ok?”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“What happened?” Roman asked, once Dean was off the phone.

Dean sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, before explaining the situation. Roman felt his heart hurt for Annabelle and Sebastian. Just thinking about either of them being upset for any reason at all made him almost sick to himself, “But they’re ok now?” he asked.

Dean nodded, “Yeah, she said that they’re fine. If not, she would want us to go up to school or something.”

“Are you sure?” he replied, “I’ll go get them right now.”

Dean gave his best friend an appreciative grin, “It’s ok. They’re excited now that they get to make something for Gemma.”

Roman smiled, “She is going to go through the roof.”

“I know.” Dean smiled back, before he started a reply to Miss Morgan.

“You want a breather this weekend?” Roman asked, “We’ll grab them today, then you guys bring them home after dinner on Sunday.”

“You sure?” He asked, after sending the email.

“I know when you need a breather,” Roman smirked, “Besides, Gemma and Tatum are going to do girlie shit all weekend, I’m sure Annabelle will love every second of it. Plus the kids can help make dinner, they’ll be in heaven. I’ll even take the dog too if you want.”

Dean couldn’t help laughing, “You might have to. She does NOT like being separated from the kids. She follows them around every single second of the day.”

Tootsie was now roughly three months old, according to the vet. She was happy and healthy, and growing more each day. She also was attached to Annabelle and Sebastian at all possible times. When the kids were at home, Tootsie was at their side. 

In the morning, Dean or Seth would walk Tootsie to the bus stop with Annabelle and Sebastian. While they were at school, Tootsie would lay on the floor by the front door until it was time to go pick them up. She would lay under the table when they were doing their homework or eating and lay on the bathroom floor while they were showering.

At bed time Tootsie needed to be on the bed for story time. She would whine at bedtime because it meant that she’d be separated from them. Dean and Seth decided to put her crate in the kids’ room so that she’d be able to see them. There was never a time at home that the kids didn’t have a four legged shadow behind them.

“It’s because they rescued her, you know,” Roman said to Dean, “She must have been awful scared in that box.”

“I know,” Dean agreed, having had similar conversations with Seth, “Poor puppy.”

“She’s alright now though,” Roman smiled as he stood up, “We’ll get the kids after school ok?”

Dean smiled, “Thanks.” 

“You didn’t tell Seth anything about his birthday, right?”

“I’m not saying anything until the day we leave.” Dean answered.

“Talk about last minute.” Roman chuckled.

“Maybe the night before,” he smiled, “We’ll see.”

 

***

Annabelle and Sebastian were beyond excited to find out that they’d be going to Uncle Roman’s for the weekend. So very excited that they never even mentioned their visit to Miss Morgan’s office that morning. Instead, they happily showed Dean and Seth the crafts that they had made for Aunt Gemma. 

“We took the big piece of paper,” Sebastian explained as he pointed, “And Miss Morgan and Miss LeRae drew flower stems on them.”

“Uh-huh,” Annabelle continued, “Then we painted our hands, and pressed them down on the ends of the stems and made flowers with them!”

Dean and Seth smiled, looking at Annabelle’s pink and purple handprint flowers and then Sebastian’s blue and green ones. At the very bottom it read, “Happy Mother’s Day Aunt Gemma!” Clearly written by an adult.

“She’s going to LOVE these!” Dean smiled.

“Yay!” Both kids exclaimed.

“We’ll bring them over on Sunday when we come over for dinner ok?” Seth said, “That way she doesn’t see them before Mother’s Day.”

“Good idea!” Annabelle smiled.

“Can we bring Tootsie with us?” Sebastian asked, the puppy sitting at his feet.

“How about on Sunday ok?” Dean asked, “Aunt Gemma and Uncle Roman will have to take care of her, and that’s not very fair, you know?”

“Oh,” He answered, looking down to the dog, “Sorry Tootsie.”

“She’ll be fine here.” Seth reassured.

“Ok!” Annabelle replied, looking to Sebastian, “Let’s go pack!”

“Ok!”

***

Friday night consisted of Annabelle watching scary movies with Tatum and her friends. For a child who easily became anxious and was afraid of thunderstorms, she loved her scary movies. Tonight they decided on an older movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As always, Ericka was hiding within the first ten minutes.

Sebastian was downstairs with Roman and Rylan playing games. After a few rounds of air hockey, they switched to the pool table. Roman held Sebastian up so he could attempt a few shots, while Rylan tried to keep his laughter to himself. It may have been karma when Sebastian shot the 9 ball off the table and into Rylan’s chest. 

As for Dean and Seth? They had the ENTIRE house to themselves that night, which had endless possibilities. This included falling asleep by 8:30, still in their clothes with Tootsie knocked out above them on their pillows.

***

“I never got a mini-spready before.” 

Tatum, Gemma and Annabelle were walking across the parking lot to the nail salon when Annabelle made her statement. Immediately Tatum and Gemma burst into laughter before Tatum corrected her, “It’s called a mani-pedi, Shortcake.”

“Right!” She answered, “That!”

“First time for everything, right?” Gemma asked.

“How come we’re doing this?” She asked.

“It’s Mother’s Day weekend,” Tatum explained, “Time to do something fun.”

Annabelle was satisfied with the answer and continued walking with them. Sebastian and Rylan were at the movies and would be getting picked up afterwards. Once inside, Annabelle’s eyes widened, “Do I get my nails painted?!”

Tatum laughed, “Yep, fingers and toes.”

Annabelle’s face lit up more, “Holy moly!” 

***

Dean had woken up first that morning, more rested than he’d been in…well, he wasn’t sure how long. To his left, Seth was asleep on his stomach with Tootsie sleeping halfway on top of his head. Doing his best to keep from laughing, he quietly reached for his phone and snapped a picture. From there, he scooped Tootsie up and brought her downstairs for her breakfast and a potty run.

When Seth finally woke up, Dean was sitting up next to him watching TV. Tootsie was relaxing on his lap, half asleep with her head rested in his stomach.

“Good morning baby.” Dean smirked to him.

“Morning.” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes, “Why am I still in my work clothes?”

“Same reason I was. We fell asleep like that.” 

He couldn’t help the laugh that he let out, which woke Tootsie from her half nap. The puppy stretched and then jumped over to Seth.

“Good morning, Toots,” He said, cuddling her into him, “Did you sleep good too?”

“She sure did.” Dean laughed.

Seth kissed the top of her head and looked to Dean, “What’s on the to-do list, since we’re kid-less?”

Dean thought for a second. He had a few things that had popped in his head that morning that they hadn’t gotten around to. The first one was pretty important, “You give any more thought to a new car yet?”

They had started the conversation a week prior, but never came to a decision. Seth had mentioned that maybe it was time for him to get a new car. It actually had been awhile since he needed a new car. He loved his, but now he had two kids to tote around, and another adult as well. Plus a dog that eventually would be the size of a child. His car was getting up in miles and was a two door, which although wasn’t a HUGE deal, he really needed to upgrade.

“Mmmm,” He mumbled, “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Dean chuckled, “Just maybe?”

Seth giggled, “No.”

Dean laughed, “Doesn’t shock me.”

“So what?” he answered, pulling the blankets up over himself, “I don’t wanna.”

“C’mon baby,” he smirked, “You even said it was a good idea.”

“I don’t even know where to start.” he said, hiding his face. Tootsie began yipping when she couldn’t see Seth’s face anymore. She started pawing at the blanket, until Seth reappeared, “Here I am.”

The puppy wagged her tail, pouncing onto him and licking his face.

“Take that!” Dean smiled before asking, “Do you think you would you prefer a car, or an SUV, or a truck?”

“Hmmm,” he thought, “I guess SUV’s are cool.”

“Like mine?” Dean asked, “You drive mine all the time, maybe that’s what you should get.”

Seth thought for a second. He did really like Dean’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, “Maybe. Is that weird to have the same car?” he smirked.

Dean chuckled, “Don’t get a silver one like mine, plus yours will be newer.”

“Definitely getting black.”

“That was a given,” Dean smiled, “So let’s go car shopping.”

“Right now?” Seth asked.

“Yeah,” He smirked, “Why not?”

“You’re really making me do this, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. You’ve been putting it off for a long time, and you know it.”

Seth sighed and looked to Tootsie, “He’s making me get a new car, Toots.”

“Tootsie agrees with me, we talked about it this morning.” Dean teased.

“Guess we’re going to get a new car.”

***

Annabelle was completely fascinated with everything that went into getting a mani-pedi. When she was finished, her nails were painted pink. Two of her fingers, and both of her big toes had purple and white flower designs on them. She couldn’t stop staring and smiling.

“Where are we going next?” She asked, as they walked out of the salon.

“To get stuff for your scrapbook, remember?” Gemma smiled.

It was no secret that Seth had been slacking off on the scrapbook that he and Annabelle got for Christmas. In all honesty, Seth didn’t know the first thing about scrapbooking and he was really afraid to ruin it. Gemma decided that for his birthday, they would update the scrapbook for him. Dean snuck it to Gemma without Seth noticing, and it sat at their house waiting to be worked on.

Gemma picked up the boys from the movies and then headed to Michaels Arts & Crafts. Annabelle and Sebastian were bouncing before they even got through the doors. Right to the Kids section they went, excitedly looking at different painting and coloring crafts. From there they went to the puzzles and then stopped in the book section.

“So many books.” Annabelle smiled with wide eyes.

“So many coloring books.” Sebastian added with a matching smile.

Both of them scoured through the books, while Tatum and Rylan wandered around a bit themselves. Annabelle was looking through a Toy Story 4 book when Sebastian tapped her on the shoulder.

“I like this one.” He said quietly. 

Annabelle smiled when she saw the Marvel coloring book that he had. It was definitely for much older kids, but Annabelle knew that Sebastian would do a great job coloring in it.

“Do you want to get it?” She asked.

He nodded, “Yeah, I don’t know, I mean yeah.”

“Sebby you should ask,” She replied, “I don’t know why you don’t let people see how good you can color.”

“Cause I don’t want them making a big deal about it,” He replied shyly, “I just like doing it.”

She sighed. Sebastian had given her that explanation multiple times before. Annabelle understood but at the same time she knew that Seth and Dean had NO clue how good Sebastian was. She always thought that they should know, and that they’d love it. But of course, being his best friend meant that she’d keep her mouth shut about it for him.

“How about I ask her?” She asked Sebastian.

A small smile formed on his face, signaling to Annabelle that she now had a mission at hand.

***

“Hey Aunt Gemma,” Annabelle said, as she skipped down the sticker aisle to where Gemma was browsing, “I have a question.”

“What’s up?” She asked, turning her attention to Annabelle.

“Can um, can we please get this for Sebby?” She asked, holding the book out for her to see, “He would really like this.”

Gemma took the book from her and studied it for a second, “This is for older kids who REALLY like to draw and color, AB.”

“Oh, I know,” She answered with a smile, “Don’t tell anyone, but Sebby is REAL good at drawing and coloring. He just doesn’t like people to see it.”

She raised her eyebrows, “Really?”

“Shhh,” Annabelle replied, “He just doesn’t want everyone to make a big deal about it. He likes to do it, and he doesn’t show anyone.”

“Interesting,” Gemma replied, looking back at the book and then to Annabelle, “If you think it’s a good idea, then we can get it. But don’t let me come over your house and find it someplace without being colored at all.”

“You won’t!” She smiled back.

“Alright,” Gemma answered, putting the book in her cart, “So are you going to help e pick out some stickers for the scrapbook?” she asked, motioning to the wall of stickers that she was in front of. 

“Ok!”  
***

“Aunt Gemma?” Annabelle asked, from the kitchen table where she and Sebastian now sat coloring, “Are we going anywhere for my Daddy’s birthday? We always go out or have a party for everyone’s birthday.”

Gemma and Tatum exchange a look from behind the kitchen counter while Rylan whistled and walked out of the room. 

Sebastian put down his colored pencil and looked at Annabelle, “I know what that means.”

“What’s that mean?” She answered, wide eyed.

“It’s something good.” Sebastian smiled, looking at Gemma and Tatum. 

“Welllll,” Tatum smirked, looking from Gemma back to the kids, “The thing is, if Uncle Seth finds out then it’ll ruin everything, and his birthday. We don’t want that, right?”

Annabelle and Sebastian’s eyes were wide when they answered, “No!”

“I want my Daddy to have a good birthday!” Annabelle said.

Sebastian nodded, “He deserves it!”

“Then you have to keep this a secret,” Gemma warned, “If you don’t, then we’ll leave you home. Mr. Finn already told us that you can stay at his house.”

“We won’t tell!” Annabelle cried out.

“We promise, we promise!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“AB, answer me a question first ok?” Tatum asked her.

She nodded, “Uh huh.”

“Your Daddy’s never been to the beach, has he?”

Annabelle thought for a second and then shook her head, “No, he hasn’t.”

“Hmmmm,” Gemma smirked, “I bet going to the beach would be something he’d want to do, right?”

“I think he would like it.” She replied.

“So how about we take him to the beach for his birthday?” Tatum smiled.

Both kids screamed and jumped from their seats in excitement.

“I guess that’s a yes.” Gemma laughed.

“Daddy’s going to love the beach!” Annabelle smiled.

“Yeah Daddy will l-” Sebastian paused abruptly, his eyes widening in panic, “I didn’t mean it! It was an accident!”

“Didn’t mean what?” Gemma asked confused, walking from around the counter and over to them.

Sebastian melted into full blown sobs, “I’m sorry!”

“Sebbby, it’s ok,” Tatum soothed, picking him up in her arms, “Sebby what happened? Why are you upset, it’s alright.”

Annabelle looked on horrified, unsure of why Sebastian was having a complete meltdown.

“I didn’t mean to say it!” He cried.

“Say what baby?” Gemma asked, watching while her daughter tried to calm him down.

“I called Mr. Seth ‘Daddy’ but he’s not my Daddy and I’m sorry.” He cried into Tatum’s shoulder.

“Awe, Sebby,” She replied, squeezing him tight, “It’s ok if you called him that, you don’t have to be sorry, it’s alright.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong Seb,” Gemma added, looking down to Annabelle, “What do you think?”

She shook her head, “He didn’t do anything wrong. It’s ok if he calls him that. He’s just like his Daddy too.”

“Are you sure?” Gemma asked, more so for Sebastian to hear, “Because if it’s not ok, you can tell us. You won’t be in trouble or anything like that.”

“It’s ok,” She smiled, “I like it.”

Sebastian picked his head up and looked to Annabelle, “Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh yup.” She answered.

“Do you want to call Dean ‘Papa‘?” Tatum asked her.

Annabelle shrugged, “He’s like my Papa too, so yes.”

“Are you sure?” Gemma asked, “Don’t do it only because of Sebby ok? This is something that both of you have to do on your own, whenever you feel right about it. Not just because you think you should, or you have to. Ok?”

“I know Aunt Gemma.” Annabelle replied with a smile.

She smiled back, then looked to Tatum who had gotten Sebastian to calm down, “You ok Sebby?” Tatum asked, running her hand over his hair.

Sebastian sniffled and nodded, still clinging onto her.

“Do you wanna know what we have planned for the beach?” She asked.

Immediately his eyes widened and he nodded, while Annabelle squealed out in excitement. Tatum smiled, walking over and sitting Sebastian on the island. Annabelle pushed a chair over to join them, as Tatum and Aunt Gemma began to reveal their plans.

Every year they went to the beach for Roman’s birthday. It just so happened that Roman and Seth had birthdays that were only a few days apart. Since Seth had never been to the beach, they all decided that they’d surprise him with the trip for his birthday. That way all of them could celebrate both birthdays together.

“How many days are we going for?!” Annabelle asked.

“Five.” Tatum replied.

Her face fell, “But what about school?”

Tatum winked, “Maybe you’ll get to skip school for a couple of days.”

“Really?!” Sebastian smiled.

“I’ve never done that before!” Annabelle exclaimed.

“Neither one of you missed many days at school this year,” Gemma explained, “If you did, then we wouldn’t be letting you do this.”

“Ohhhhh.” They both replied.

“So we’ll leave in the morning on my Dad’s birthday,” Tatum explained, “Then we’re coming home the day after your Daddy’s birthday.”

“Woahhhh.” Annabelle smiled.

“When are you telling him?” Sebastian asked.

“That’s up to your Papa,” Gemma explained, “He’s in charge of that.”

“Can Tootsie come?” Annabelle asked.

“Uhhhh,” Tatum started, looking at Gemma, “Can she?”

“Well,” Gemma said, looking at the kids, “She could, BUT, I want you think about something. She can’t go EVERYWHERE with us at the beach, so she’ll be in the house by herself when we’re not there. That means when we’re shopping, or at dinner, or on the beach or the boardwalk. We can see if she can stay at Noah’s while we’re gone. That way she’ll be with Moose the whole time.”

Annabelle and Sebastian looked at each other, “Hm,” Sebastian started, “I want her to come, but she won’t be able to do anything with us.”

“I know,” Annabelle answered, “I bet she’d have lots of fun with Moose. Maybe she should stay there. They’ll have a sleepover.”

He nodded, “They’ll have fun together.”

“That was easy,” Tatum smirked to her mother, “Puppy logic.”

“I never knew there was such a thing.” Gemma laughed.

“Aunt Gemma can we do our scrapbook now?” Annabelle asked.

“Oh!” Gemma replied, “Right!’

Tatum and Gemma grabbed up their bags of supplies and spread everything out on the table, “Ok,” Tatum started, “Where do we start?”

Gemma opened up the envelope full of pictures she had printed, “Christmas.”

“Jeeze, we have to get on your dad to work on this!” Tatum said, looking for Christmas themed scrapbook paper.

“I know!” Annabelle replied, “Him and Papa always think they’re going to mess things up, so they never want to do stuff like this! Papa is still supposed to make a Shortcake Strawberry with me!”

Tatum and Gemma’s eyes widened at her mini outburst, “He’s supposed to make what?” Gemma smiled.

“A Shortcake Strawberry! It’s a cake, like me! He told me that he’d make one with me, but he thinks he’ll blow up the kitchen! We haven’t made one yet.”

“Ok first,” Tatum giggled, “It’s a Strawberry Shortcake.”

“Right!” Annabelle answered.

“Ok, we’ll get him to make one with you ok?” Gemma grinned, “But let’s work on this first, we have a LOT of catching up to do.”

“This is what he’s getting for his birthday, and if he doesn’t keep up with it this time, he’s in BIG trouble.” Tatum smiled.

“Big trouble!” Sebastian repeated, opening the bag of glue sticks.

Annabelle nodded, “SO much trouble!”

“What’s after that?” Tatum laughed, “Is there any other kind of trouble?”

“Nah,” Sebastian replied, “No more after that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Gesu Cristo" translates to "Jesus Christ"  
> "Grazie" translates to "Thank you" in Italian
> 
> You guys ready for Mother's Day and Seth's surprise birthday at the beach? :) Do you love Tootsie?  
> All comments are always appreciated! Thanks!


	25. Fathers and Mothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even with Roman and Gemma taking the kids for the weekend, Seth and Dean can't enjoy it as much as they want to.

Seth was dreading the entire concept of going car shopping. Much to his surprise, it wasn’t a painful as he thought it would be. Just like Dean suggested, he bought a newer version of the Jeep that Dean owned. They sat in the garage playing with all of the cool features for at least an hour once they were at home.

Tootsie was overly excited when she heard them come into the house. She barked from her crate, hopping up and down with her tail wagging.

“Hey Toots,” Dean smiled, bending down to let her out, “Did you miss us?”

It was quite obvious by her ecstatic reaction that she certainly did. She was practically spinning herself in circles, trying to get as much attention from them as she could. 

“Slow down, I can’t pick you up if you keep moving,” Dean laughed, managing to scoop her into his arms, “C’mon let’s go outside.”

***

Before bedtime, Tatum Face-Timed Dean and Seth so Annabelle and Sebastian could say goodnight. The second that Tootsie heard the kids voices through the phone, her head shot around trying to find them. Dean laughed while he held her in his lap, “Who’s that, Toots?” 

“Tootsie we’re here!” Annabelle giggled.

Seth held the phone in front of her face, unsure if the puppy would be able to figure out what was going on.

“Hi Tootsie!” Sebastian smiled.

Tootsie barked and wagged her tail, staring at the screen.

“Are you being good?” Annabelle asked.

“Yes she is.” Dean replied.

“We miss her.” Sebastian said sadly.

“We’ll bring her over tomorrow silly,” Seth replied, “So what did you guys do today?”

Annabelle told them all about getting a Mani Pedi, which of course Dean and Seth really had no knowledge of. But, she was happy so they were happy and her nails were super cute. Sebastian told them all about the movie that he and Rylan went to see, and getting to help Roman make dinner that night.

After a round of “Goodnights” “I love you’s”, the call was ended. Tootsie stretched and yawned, being used to going to bed around the same time that the kids did.

“Oh really?” Dean asked her, as she walked in a circle and got comfortable on the bed.

“I think that was a yes.” Seth chuckled.

Seth’s phone ringing took their attention away from their half asleep puppy. Seth’s eyebrows raised when he saw the number. He stared at the ringing phone in his hand for a few more seconds, Dean noticing his hesitation. Seth swallowed hard and climbed from the bed to answer, “Hello?”

Dean listened in quietly during the conversation. It was Seth’s Aunt Ellen who was calling, which told him right away that something was wrong. Seth was almost emotionless while he spoke, “Ok. What does that mean?….How long?…..Tonight?…..”

Dean’s heart began to sink when he heard those questions coming out of his boyfriend’s mouth. This couldn’t be good. While the conversation continued, Dean climbed out of bed and walked towards Seth. Like he had done months before, he stood behind Seth with his arms around his waist and quietly waited. 

When the call ended, Seth didn’t say at word. He stared out in front of him, until Dean kissed the side of his head, “Baby,” he said gently turning Seth to face him, “What is it?”

Seth’s eyes were empty and still looking away, causing a slight rush of fear through Dean. He knew right away that whatever it was, was about to mess up Seth’s universe.

“Seth?” Dean asked softly, holding him securely around his waist, “Talk to me. Please?”

Seth swallowed, his eyes finally finding Dean’s, “Dad’s going to die.”

“Huh?” Dean asked, not expecting that answer, “Going to? Is he sick? What happened?”

“According to my Aunt,” he started slowly, “He got rushed to the hospital this morning, and won’t make it through the night.”

Dean’s heart sunk deep, “What…why….”

“He collapsed at the bar, and they called 911. The doctors at the hospital said that it’s his liver, and that he must have known something was wrong. It’s evident that it’s been going on for at least a little while now. Now he’s in chronic organ failure, and he won’t make it through the night.”

“Jesus…” Dean said under his breath, pulling Seth in closer to him, “I’m --”

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” Seth interrupted, “Just…please.”

“Ok,” Dean answered softly, running his hand over Seth’s hair, “I won’t, ok?”

“Thanks.” he squeaked.

Dean noticed that Seth was losing color in his face, “Baby, come sit down ok?” he asked, before guiding him over to the side of the bed.

They sat down, Dean still keeping his arm around Seth, “What else did your aunt say?”

Seth shrugged, looking down at the floor, “Just that she thought I needed to know, regardless of the situation. Also by some off chance that I wanted to go say goodbye.”

Dean took a breath, “Do you want to?”

Still looking down, Seth shook his head.

“Baby are you sure?” he asked, “I’ll go with you.”

Seth swallowed, “He doesn’t deserve for me to stop my life for him. He never gave a flying fuck about us. He didn’t go to Tori’s funeral, he was passed out drunk. Fuck him.”

Dean nodded while stroking Seth’s back, “You’re right. It’s ok, you’re right.”

Seth sniffled, picking his head up to look at Dean, “Did I ever tell you what he said to me when I told them that I was gay?”

Dean’s stomach dropped again and he shook his head, “No baby, you didn’t.”

He swallowed, “I was in my first year of college and I was sitting at the kitchen table doing some homework. My mom asked when I was going to get a girlfriend. I told her that I didn’t like girls, I liked guys. My dad choked on his beer then said, “Great, now I have a fuck up AND a fairy for kids.”

“Seth…” Dean trailed, feeling his heart breaking, “I’m sorry that he did that to you.”

“I wasn’t even mad about him calling me that. I was mad about what he said about Tori. If he would have given a shit, or my mom would have, then she’d still be alive. She’d be ok. Instead he had the audacity to call her a fuck up, as if he didn’t contribute to it.” 

A small fire was lighting inside of Dean at this point. Someone hurt Seth, and now Dean wanted to hurt them. His job was to protect Seth, and he always would. But at this very moment, there was no one he could hurt. There was nothing vengeful he could do to make this right. 

“He’s paying for it,” Dean said quietly, trying not to project anger in his voice, “It came around. Like it did with my dad.”

Seth nodded, “Yeah.”

“Is um, is she going to call again when…”

“No,” he answered, “She’ll text me. I didn’t want her to have to waste her time calling me over it.”

“Was she the only relative that you liked?”

“She’s a saint. I don’t know how her and my mother are actually sisters. Night and Day. Aunt Ellen was the only one who supported me when I took Annabelle. Anytime I needed help with anything, she was always there. She babysat Annabelle for me when I was working, helped me pick a good school for her. She helped me sell my house, so Annabelle and I could get the fuck out of there faster. She’s amazing.”

Dean smirked, “She sounds like it.”

“I just…” he stopped in mid sentence trying to collect his thoughts, “I feel really numb right now.”

“I know,” Dean answered, “I did too. You feel like you should be upset but you’re not. Everything else is just running around in your mind.”

“Yeah, just like that,” he answered, “Is it bad that I’m not upset?”

“No. I wasn’t really either.”

“I keep thinking about my sister,” he stopped as tears began to form, “She went through the same shit that I did with him. She understands. If she were here right now she’d know what to say. I just wish I could talk to her.”

“I think that somewhere your sister is smiling at you. I think she’s happy because you’re doing the best job in the world with Annabelle. I think that maybe she was that star in the sky that you followed to get here.”

Seth blinked and looked at Dean, “Sebby told you about that?”

Dean gave him a small nod and a reassuring grin, “Yeah. Him and AB think a star brought you here to us. I think so too.”

Seth’s mouth opened but no words came out. Tears began falling freely down his cheeks, making Dean’s heart bottom out, “Baby don’t cry,” he said, pulling him into his embrace, “Please don’t cry.”

Dean wasn’t sure how they ended up sliding down onto the floor. He still held Seth in his arms, calmly trying to sooth his tears. 

Tootsie, who had somehow slept through everything thus far, woke up startled. The sound of Seth’s sobs sent her straight from the bed over to Seth and Dean. She tried her best to get in between them, crying and whining the entire time.

“Tootsie not now.” Dean said, assuming that she wanted to play. 

Then he realized that she wasn’t barking or playfully growling like she usually would. She was letting out cries and whimpers, and it dawned on Dean what was going on. He maneuvered himself so that he could put Tootsie in Seth’s lap. She immediately pawed at his arms, and licked his face.

“Just like Duke.” Dean said quietly to himself.

Seth held onto the puppy, gently petting her while Dean held him in his arms, “I love you,” Dean said, kissing the side of Seth’s face, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” he sniffled, before Tootsie gave him another lick.

“Ah! That was my nose!” He choked.

Dean couldn’t help the chuckle he let out, “Good girl, Toots.”

Seth leaned into Dean, letting himself melt into his embrace. It was safe there, nothing could ever touch him when he was there. Exhaustion began to set in, but somehow Dean convinced him to get into bed. They curled up together, Seth securely in Dean’s arms while Dean quietly whispered to him until he fell asleep.

 

***

“Sebby….Sebby….”

Sebastian’s eyes slowly opened, focusing on Annabelle while she gently shook him. Tears were falling down her face, causing him to sit straight up, “What’s wrong?”

“I had a bad dream,” She cried, “I want Daddy.”

“It’s ok AB,” he replied, “It was just a dream, you’re ok.”

“It was scary,” She cried, “Really, really scary and I want Daddy and Papa.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened. They both had their share of bad dreams before, but they were always at home. They could always go jump into bed with Seth and Dean, and they would make everything better. Tonight it wasn’t an option, “Ok,” he said firmly, taking her hand, “C’mon.”  
***

Dean tried to sleep, he really did. Instead he ended up laying awake listening to Seth breathe. Tootsie was laying as close to Seth as she could, snoring away while she slept. When Seth’s phone vibrated from next to Tootsie, Seth’s eyes opened. Before he could reach back and grab it, Dean stretched over and picked it up. 

Seth took a deep breath, glancing up and watching as Dean skimmed the message. The look on his face told Seth what he already know. Dean typed a message back to Seth’s aunt, and put the phone down beside him.

“When?” Seth asked quietly.

“She said about ten minutes ago.”

He nodded, and Dean could feel Seth’s body finally relax. He knew that it was relief taking over Seth, and he understood it completely. 

“I can breathe again.” Seth said quietly.

“I know,” Dean answered, securing his arms around him, “I know.”

Both of them were startled when Seth’s phone rang. Dean reached for it, and was concerned when he saw it was a Face-Time from Tatum. Her first words after he answered were, “Uncle Dean I’m so sorry I woke you up.”

“It’s ok,” He answered, “Is everything ok?”

“AB had a really bad dream, and wants to talk to you guys.”

Seth picked his head up alarmed, while Tatum handed the phone to Annabelle, “Daddy, I want to come home.” she cried.

“Woah, slow down Shortcake,” Seth said, sitting up straight with Dean next to him, “Calm down baby. What happened?”

“Take a couple deep breaths, AB.” Dean instructed.

Tootsie had woken straight up at the sound of Annabelle’s voice. She was frantically trying to find her, stepping on Seth and Dean in the process.

Annabelle did what Dean said, while Tatum rubbed her back and Sebastian looked on concerned.

“Just relax baby,” Seth soothed, “Calm down, then tell us what happened ok? Everything’s alright.”

She sniffled hard, slowly becoming calmer and then explaining, “I had a bad dream. Daddy you were crying, and I don’t know why. No one would tell me.”

Both Seth and Dean’s faces fell. That wasn’t right, there was no way. It was just a coincidence.

“Baby I’m fine,” Seth replied, giving her the best smile that he could, “See? I’m ok, I’m not crying.”

“Were you watching scary movies again?” Dean asked.

Annabelle shook her head, her tears finally subsiding, “Not tonight.”

“Did you last night?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrow.

She nodded, “Uh-huh.”

“That’s what scary movies do sometimes,” Dean explained, “They can make you have bad dreams.”

“So why don’t we give them a break for a little while ok?” Seth suggested.

“Ok,” She answered, finally calmed down after seeing Dean and Seth, and getting an explanation, “I won’t watch them so much anymore.”

“Sounds good baby.” Seth replied.

“Look,” Dean said, holding the phone in front of Tootsie, “The Tootsie Patrol is here too. She wants to make sure you’re ok.”

Immediately her face brightened, “Hi Tootsie.”

“We didn’t mean to wake you up.” Sebastian added.

“Oh, but you woke us up.” Dean teased.

“Don’t listen to him.” Tatum smirked.

“Why don’t you guys head back to sleep?” Seth suggested, “It’s really late. We’ll see you tomorrow ok?”

She nodded, “Ok Daddy. I love you.”

“Love you too. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

The call ended, leaving Dean and Seth staring at each other in disbelief, “Coincidence, right?” Seth asked.

“I…” Dean started, “I don’t really know how I feel about that sort of stuff. But if I believed in it, I would say that it’s NOT a coincidence.”

“That just…that was a little too real.”

“I know.” Dean replied, leaning over and giving him a long kiss on the side of his head.

“Time is it?” Seth asked, leaning into Dean’s arms.

Dean glanced over at the clock, letting the red digits come into focus, “A little after three.”

Tootsie let out quiet bark, getting both Dean and Seth’s attention. They looked down at her, while she lounged in Seth’s lap with her tail wagging.

“Can we help you?” Dean asked with a small smile.

Seth and Dean decided to take her outside just to be safe. She usually wasn’t awake in the middle of the night, and they didn’t want any accidents. They sat on the deck steps, the outdoor lights and pool lights illuminating the backyard while Tootsie wandered around. 

Dean wrapped his arms around Seth and kissed the side of his head, “Love you,” he murmured.

Seth let out a relaxed sigh, “Love you too.”

“Hey baby, look.” Dean said, nudging him and motioning up to the sky.

Seth looked up to see dozens of stars shining in the clear night sky. Seth smirked, staring up and watching them.

“I think I like stars,” Dean smiled, hugging onto him, “A lot.”

“I think I do too.”

***

 

“CANNONBALL!” 

Sebastian jumped from the edge of the diving board, hitting the water with a huge splash. Annabelle shook her head while she floated around on the double sized raft with Tatum.

“It’s like he never stops,” Annabelle said to Tatum, “He just keeps going, and jumping and splashing.”

Tatum laughed, “It’s your dad’s fault, he taught him.”

Annabelle’s eyes narrowed, “He did, didn’t he?”

“Yup.”

Roman and Gemma’s house was slowly filling up with relatives early that afternoon. Tatum and Rylan’s cousins were swimming around the pool with them, while the adults chatted. Roman had the grill going, with the tongs in one hand and a beer in the other.

Inside, Charlie had just arrived and was catching up with Gemma and her mother. Things were going really well for him since his move. His job was great, working as an IT tech for a major company nearby. He and Dean talked almost every day which also included Face-Timing the kids. They loved when he’d come over and go swimming or play soccer with them.

“Hello!” Dean’s voice carried through the front of the house and into the kitchen.

Before Gemma could answer, Tootsie came galloping into the kitchen in excitement, “Hi Tootsie!” Gemma gushed, picking her up and petting her, “Hello you cute little thing!”

Seth chuckled, “Nice to see you too.” 

 

***

“TOOTSIE!” Sebastian screamed, when he saw her running towards the pool excitedly. Well prepared in her pink and white polka dotted life jacket, she catapulted into the pool.

“Tootsie-Bomb!” Annabelle giggled.

One thing that they had discovered about Tootsie was that she loved the water. She decided to jump into Dean’s pool one afternoon while he and Seth were floating around. After the initial heart attack that she gave them, it became apparent that she loved the pool.

Luckily, she wasn’t interested in swimming around unless someone was already in the pool. That didn’t keep Seth and Dean from getting her the life vest though. She was still a puppy, and it wasn’t safe for her to swim around on her own for a long time. 

“Hi Tootsie!” Annabelle waved from the raft.

Tootsie barked at them, while she paddled herself over to the raft. Tatum grabbed her up, giggling as she brought the wet pooch onto the raft with them.

“Tootsie!” Annabelle smiled, giving her dog a hug, “I missed you!”

Sebastian swam over and climbed halfway on to the raft, “Hi Tootsie!”

Tootsie excitedly wagged her tail barking at Sebastian while the girls pet her.

“Here comes trouble!” Tatum giggled, seeing Seth and Dean walking over in their swimsuits.

“Hey! What are you doing with my dog?” Dean teased, before climbing into the pool.

“She’s sunbathing with us!” Annabelle replied. 

Sebastian looked at Seth and Dean confused, then shook his head and swam back to the diving board. 

“Sunbathing, huh?” Dean smirked, leaning up on the raft with Seth.

“Uh-huh, yup.” Annabelle smiled, petting Tootsie’s wet head.

Seth reached over and grabbed at Annabelle’s foot, “Let me see those nails.”

Giggling, Annabelle slid down so that Seth could see her pink toe nails, and then showed him her matching fingernails.

“Very nice.” Seth said, while Dean looked over. 

“Girlie.” Dean smirked to Annabelle.

She gasped, “So?”

“Is that a new swim suit?” Seth questioned, noticing that Annabelle was wearing a two-piece that was printed like a mermaid.

She nodded, “Aunt Gemma got it for me,” she explained, “She liked it a lot and asked if I wanted it.”

“Even though you already have one?” Seth asked, arching his eyebrow.

“C’mon Uncle Seth,” Tatum smiled, “A girl’s gotta have more than one swim suit, you know.”

“Uh-huh, yup.” Annabelle agreed.

Dean turned to Seth and then tugged him away from the raft, “I don’t like this,” he said, quiet enough for only Seth to hear, “She’s sunbathing, and getting her nails done, and needs more than one swim suit. Make it stop, she’s not allowed to be like this yet.”

Seth bit his lip to try and keep from laughing at his boyfriend. He was feeling a similar reaction himself, but he never expected it out of Dean, “You wanna put her in a bubble?”

“Yes,” Dean replied, “Exactly.”

Seth really thought Dean was going to have a small meltdown over the situation. He looked over Dean’s shoulder to the girls while they laid on the raft, giggling and playing with Tootsie, “Baby it’s fine. How many times did you tell me that WE wanted her to do new things?”

Dean frowned, “Right, but I didn’t say that she could become a instant teenager.”

“She’s not driving yet, relax.” Seth chuckled.

“Yet.” He replied, rolling his eyes.

“C’mon.” Seth smiled, swimming back to the raft.

“Girl talk?” Tatum teased.

“You have no idea.” Seth laughed. 

Dean reached up and pulled Annabelle off the raft and into his arms. Tootsie yipped at the surprise, then jumped into the pool after them. Annabelle giggled wildly from Dean’s arms, while he blew raspberries in her neck and pretended to dunk her. Tootsie swam circles around them, barking at Dean to leave Annabelle alone. 

Seth picked up the wet puppy, “It’s ok Toots, they’re just playing.”

“FOOD’S UP!” Roman called.

“But we just got in!” Dean yelled back.

Roman slid his shades down to the tip of his nose and eyed Dean, “Really?”

“Five more minutes!” Seth replied.

Roman shook his head and chuckled, then went back to sorting out the food. 

Five minutes turned into an hour of them swimming around. When they finally got out, Dean noticed right away that something wasn’t right with Annabelle. He kept an eye on her, finally discovering what was wrong after everyone had changed and were ready to eat.

Dean scooped her up and walked out of the kitchen with her. She immediately buried her face in his neck and held onto him securely.

“What’s wrong with my Shortcake?” Dean asked, kissing the side of her forehead.

“I don’t feel good, Papa.” She mumbled.

Dean’s eyebrows almost shot off his forehead, and he couldn’t help the small smile formed on his face, “How don’t you feel good?” he asked, rocking her a little in his arms.

“I don’t know,” She whined, “I just don’t.”

“Ok,” he replied, realizing what was going on, “I bet you’re tired.”

She nodded into him, “I couldn’t sleep.”

Dean headed for the steps, walking up slowly and answering, “I’m tired too. I didn’t get much sleep either.”

Annabelle pulled her face away and looked at him, “Did you have a bad dream too?”

Just the look of exhaustion on Annabelle’s face made Dean feel terrible for her. She may have been alright that morning, but clearly after running around and swimming all afternoon she was wiped out.

“No, I think I was just excited about coming over here today.” he fibbed.

“Oh.” She yawned.

He maneuvered the pillows and blankets around on the bed, before sitting down with her. He propped himself up on the pillows against the headboard, “You couldn’t fall back to sleep after your bad dream?”

She shook her head, “No. I was too scared.”

“You wanna tell me about it?” he asked, running his hand over her hair, “Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

She shrugged, “I dunno where we were, but my Daddy was in a chair crying. No one would tell me what was wrong. I wanted to help him like Santa said, but I couldn’t.”

Dean’s heart sunk, “It was just a dream, nothing else. I bet you were super tired last night weren’t you? After everything you guys did yesterday?”

Annabelle nodded, resting her head in Dean’s shoulder, “Yes.”

Dean pulled the blankets up over them, “I bet you were so tired that maybe the scary movies popped into your head and you didn’t realize it. You probably missed Daddy too, and all of it got mashed together into a bad dream.”

“Is that what happens?” She mumbled.

Dean knew she was about to fall asleep, and he’d honestly be lying if he said that his eyes weren’t falling heavy as well, “That’s exactly what happens,” he yawned, “It’s nothing for you to worry about now, ok? It’s all over.”

She nodded into him, and was sound asleep within seconds. Dean wasn’t far behind.

***

It wasn’t until later, when Sebastian asked Seth about getting Gemma’s presents, that they noticed Annabelle and Dean had disappeared. The entire time, they assumed that Dean and Annabelle had just been elsewhere in the house or outside. Now they were walking through the house searching for them. 

“Do you think they’re up here?” Sebastian asked, while they headed upstairs.

“I have no idea dude.” He answered, glancing into the open bedroom doors.

“Found them.” Sebastian said, standing at the entrance to Dean’s bedroom door.

Seth walked over, immediately chuckling at them while they napped away. He couldn’t help taking out his phone and snapping a quick picture of them passed out together. 

Sebastian climbed up onto the bed next to them, and gently shook Dean, “Papa, wake up.”

Seth smirked, sitting down on the bed with them and rubbing Annabelle’s back, “Sleepy head. Time to wake up.”

Annabelle rubbed her face into Dean’s chest and groaned, not wanting any part of them. Dean’s eyes slowly fluttered before widening when he realized what was going on, “Time’s it?”

“5:30.” Seth smirked.

“Oh my God, really?” Dean asked, in disbelief that he had been sleeping for almost three hours.

“We thought you were lost.” Sebastian said.

“It took you long enough.” Dean replied with a playful smirk.

“AB,” Seth said, gently shaking her, “C’mon baby, time to wake up.”

She turned her head out to face Seth, “One more minute?”

Seth smirked, running his hand down her hair, “Ok, just one. We still have to give Aunt Gemma her presents remember?”

Annabelle’s eyes immediately widened, the sleep clearly being shook from her, “Yes!”

***

Dean and Seth were grinning when they walked outside with the kids. They had left Gemma’s presents in the car specifically for this reason. Annabelle and Sebastian stopped walking when they got to the driveway, confused.

“What’s wrong?” Seth asked.

“We don’t see your car.” Annabelle replied, looking at the different cars in the long driveway.

“Really?” Dean asked, “I see it.”

Sebastian turned to him, “Where?”

Seth hit the lock button the remote to make the car chirp, getting Annabelle and Sebastian’s attention. He hit it a couple more times, both kids following the sound until they came face to face with a sleek new black Jeep Grand Cherokee.

“This isn’t your car!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“Yes it is.” Dean chuckled.

“WHAT?!” Annabelle cried out.

“THIS BIG ONE?!” Sebastian asked.

“Yup.” Dean replied.

“Where’s your real car?!” Annabelle asked.

Seth laughed, “I got a new one.”

“Really?!” Sebastian asked, “This is your new car?!”

“It is.” Seth smiled, opening the driver’s door and letting both kids climb into it.

“So cool!” Annabelle exclaimed, sliding over to the passengers seat and looking around at everything.

“I like it!” Sebastian smiled.

Seth reached in and turned the car on, making Annabelle and Sebastian even more excited. Annabelle immediately started playing with the radio, while Sebastian hit every button he could find. 

“This is really yours?!” Annabelle asked, still in disbelief.

“Definitely really is.” Dean replied.

She looked around, “It’s beautiful.”

Sebastian nodded, then turned to look into the back, “Look, it’s a Tootsie seat!”

Annabelle looked back and giggled when she saw a blanket on one of the seats just for Tootsie, “I like it!”  
Dean opened the back door and pulled out Gemma’s presents that were sitting on the seats, “You ready to give these to her?”

“Can we stay in here longer?” Sebastian asked.

“Later ok?” Seth asked, “We still get to drive home, remember?”

“Oh yeah!”

****

No one expected Gemma to burst into tears when she got her presents from the kids. But there she sat, on the couch looking at both of the Mother’s Day creations that were made for her. 

“This is the sweetest!” She cried, pulling both kids into her arms tightly, “Thank you so much!”

“How is it that we got you REAL flowers and you didn’t cry?” Rylan asked.

Tatum bit her lip to keep from laughing, while Gemma looked up and gave him a fake glare, “Really?”

“It’s ok, she didn’t cry after I gave her my present either.” Roman teased.

“If she did, then you were definitely doing it wrong.” Dean blurted out. 

Tatum let out a half scream, before falling back into the recliner in laughter. She slid to the floor, holding her stomach while continuing to laugh.

Roman looked from his daughter to Dean and shook his head, “I feel like I need to keep you guys separated sometimes, you know that?”

“You wouldn’t do that to us.” Dean smiled back.

“Especially me.” Seth added with an innocent smile.

“You’re lucky.” He replied.

“I wanna get these framed,” Gemma said, holding the pictures for Roman to see, “What do you think?”

Roman tilted his head to the side and examined them, “Sure babe.”

“I’m glad you like them, Aunt Gemma.” Annabelle smiled.

Sebastian nodded, “Yup.”

“I love them,” She replied with a smile, “I’m the luckiest Mommy and Aunt in the whole world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> Wow, I don't know if anyone else is having issues with their Ambrollins writing lately, but yeah, I was struggling. I hope this was alright considering! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are super appreciated, especially right now while my Ambrollins train is moving super slow! 
> 
> Sidebar: My brother and his friends all have some variety of Jeeps, and I love them lol.


	26. I Don't Think I Ever Have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, and that this chapter isn't a marathon like a lot of the others. This Summer has been a lot to handle to say the least. But anyway, here you guys go, I hope you enjoy!!

Dean was awake -long- before his alarm had gone off on the morning of Roman’s birthday. Bouncing with excitement, it took everything in him to -not- wake Seth up yet. It was way too early still. Instead, he quietly slipped out of bed and grabbed a shower then packed up the last few things that they would need for their trip.

When he slid back in bed, Seth was right where Dean had left him, sound asleep on his back. Dean smiled, his heart practically ready to burst right out of his chest from excitement.

“Baby,” Dean said softly, running his fingers lightly down his arm, “Baby wake up.”

“Mmmmm.” Was the only response he got.

Dean smirked, leaning in and kissing his cheek a couple times, “C’mon sleepy head.”

Seth let out a small groan, “Time is it?”

“Time to get up.” 

“Funny,” Seth mumbled, his eyes slowly opening, “Baby the sun isn’t even up yet.”

“I know,” he smiled, “We’re starting your birthday early.”

He blinked, “The hell does that mean?”

“It means that you need to get up, get a shower and get dressed. We’re leaving soon.”

Seth was beyond confused at this point, “We are? Where are we going?”

“The beach.” he smiled brightly.

“What?!” Seth exclaimed, his eyes widening, “We are?!”

Dean couldn’t help laughing, “Yes, we are. We’re leaving this morning and coming back the day after your birthday. Everything is already packed, I’m going to wake the kids up and then drop Tootsie off at Finn and Sami’s.”

“Holy shit,” he replied, sitting up and facing him, “This is for real?”

“Very for real.”

“Wait. What about school?”

“You objecting to the kids missing a couple of days? I already got their homework assignments and everything they’ll be missing.”

Seth let out an excited squeal, throwing his arms around Dean and laughing, “This is going to be the greatest!”

Dean squeezed on to him tightly, “That’s the plan baby.”

***

“I wanna ride with Uncle Seth and Uncle Dean!” Tatum exclaimed.

“I wanna ride with Uncle Roman!” Sebastian shouted, right after her.

“Whatever,” Roman smirked, “Just get in a car.”

Roman, Gemma and the kids had arrived at Seth and Dean’s a half hour prior and helped with getting the Dean’s Jeep packed. Now they were officially on their way.

“How excited was Seth this morning, Sebby?” Roman asked while he drove.

“SO EXCITED,” Sebastian replied, with wide eyes, “He was smiling SO big all morning, and it was so funny!”

Gemma giggled, “You’re learning to be a good surprise-keeper, Sebby.”

“Yup!” He answered proudly.

Annabelle couldn’t stop smiling. Seth was SO happy, and it made her even happier. She watched him while he sat in the passenger seat talking to Dean while he drove. They weren’t talking about anything that interesting to her, but just his mannerisms let her know how elated he was.

“So what do you wanna do at the beach Uncle Seth?” Tatum asked, “Besides the actual beach that is.”

Seth chuckled, “I don’t even know where to start.”

Dean smirked to himself while he drove, Seth had absolutely NO idea what he was getting in to. 

A couple hours later when they pulled into the driveway of Roman’s beach house, Seth’s jaw dropped. Dean couldn’t help the giggle he let out at his reaction, “You ok?”

Seth turned to him, “This is his?”

“It used to be my grandparents,” Tatum explained, “They used to own a bunch of houses on this part of the beach and they‘d rent them out. Then they got older, and decided that they didn’t want to deal with it anymore. They kept this one for us though.” 

Seth turned to her, “I didn’t know your grandparents had THAT much money.”

“You’ve been to their house.” She giggled.

“You couldn’t figure that one out on your own?” Dean teased his boyfriend, knowing that Seth had been to their house on multiple occasions.

“Can we go!?” Annabelle asked, nearly about to catapult from the back seat.

“Oh!” Dean smiled, turning the car off, “Yes!”

***

Seth was completely amazed by the beach house from the second he walked up the steps of the wrap around porch. Annabelle was excitedly holding is hand, while her and Sebastian began giving him the tour inside. The living room was huge, with three couches, a pool table, bean bag chairs and a bar. The kitchen was at the back of the first floor, with large windows and a sliding glass door that led to the deck. It was double leveled, with a hot tub and a set of steps that led straight down to the beach. 

When the kids raced off to go unpack, Dean gave Seth’s hand a small tug, “C’mon.” he smiled.

Dean brought him upstairs, leading him into one of the bedrooms and closing the door, “So this is where we’re going to be,” he smiled, wrapping his arms around Seth’s waist and giving him a kiss, “Every single chance we can when there’s not a kid around.”

Seth smiled and gently broke the kiss, looking around at the bedroom. It was a lot like Dean’s room at Roman’s house. The windows were much bigger though, and brought in much more light along with the double French doors. The décor was beach themed, the bed set light blue with seashells and light house print. The couch had pillows shaped like fish on it, with a throw blanket that matched. On the wall there were framed pictures of Dean and Sebby on the beach, smiling brightly.

“We’ll definitely be adding to that wall before we leave.” Dean smiled, watching Seth as he examined the pictures. 

Seth smiled back,” Sounds good.”

“C’mere.” Dean instructed, walking over and unlocking the double French doors.

“Where do they go?” Seth asked.

Dean grinned, opening them up and tugging Seth out onto the balcony with him. 

“Oh my God.” Seth gasped, looking out at the view in front of him.

Nothing but beach and water for miles on end. 

“Think this will do?” Dean asked with a shit eating grin.

Seth blinked and looked at him, “This is- oh my - De - oh my -”

Dean cut him off with a quick kiss and then smiled, “I think we need to unpack, and get out there. What do you think?”

“Fuck yes.”

***

It took Seth two steps into the sand to instantly realize why this was his daughter’s favorite place in the world. It took him over, just as it had done to her months prior. She held his hand and tugged him along, while Sebastian rode up on Dean’s shoulders.

Once they had their spot set up with chairs, umbrellas and towels, Annabelle was excited to give Seth a beach-tutorial. He scooped her up and walked towards the water as she instructed. They were just at the line of wet and dry sand when she started, “Ok Daddy, that’s the waves breaking, ok?” she started, pointing to where the waves were crashing in, “It’s fun there, because you get all wet but sometimes they’re real big and will knock you over.”

“That’s not fun.” Seth replied.

Annabelle shook her head, “Uh-uh Nope.”

“What else?” He asked.

“See that spot in the water behind the waves?” She asked, pointing.

“Yup.”

“Uncle Roman takes us out there! There’s no waves so we can swim around! Sometimes we have to go up and over the little waves before they become big ones.”

“Wow!”

“Uh huh. But you have to be VERY careful because the waves will wipe you out if you don’t pay attention. Or you’ll get in a zip tie!”

“You mean a rip tide, baby?” Dean smiled. He had been standing a few feet away with Sebastian, listening in on Annabelle’s instructions.

Annabelle smirked, “Right!”

“Why all of this talking and no swimming?” Dean asked.

“I’m learning.” Seth replied to his boyfriend, giving him a wink.

“Oooooooh.” Dean smirked back, “Did you tell him about the sharks?” he teased.

“There’s no sharks!” Sebastian exclaimed.

“Papa that’s mean you’re going to scare him!” Annabelle scolded, putting her free hand on her hip.

It took everything in Seth not to burst out laughing at her, while Dean stood there stunned, “Wow.”

“YOU GUYS COMING?!” Rylan shouted, as he ran straight into the waves.

“YEAH!” Sebastian replied, running after him.

“Wait for me!” Annabelle exclaimed, wiggling out of Seth’s arms and taking off.

“Think you can handle this for a few days?” Dean smirked, leaning over and giving Seth a kiss on the cheek.

“I think I’m going to love it.”

***

Gemma was pretty sure it was going to be a battle to get the kids out of the water, as it always was. It took her by surprise that it was actually Dean and Seth that wouldn’t get out. The kids had already headed up to the house, while she and Roman packed up a few last things. But out in the water stayed Dean and Seth, laughing and smiling at nothing in particular.

Seth had his legs wrapped around Dean’s waist while he stood up to his shoulders in the water. A few pecks here and there, more laughing and plenty of smiles continued.

Gemma sighed, “I hate to ruin their fun.”

Roman chuckled, “They have plenty of time,” he let out a loud whistle, getting Dean and Seth’s attention, “Let’s go or we’ll be late!” 

“Late for what?” Seth asked Dean.

“Going out to dinner for his birthday.” Dean smiled back.

“Oh yeah.” Seth remembered.

“We’ll come back later.” 

“Promise?” Seth asked with hopeful eyes.

“Yes, I promise.”

***

When Seth got a glimpse of the restaurant they’d be having dinner at, his jaw dropped. It was very tropical, with a sand path lined with palm trees to the entrance. It was designed as a Tiki Hut of sorts, but a huge one. The inside had a sand floor, wooden tables designs carved into them, tiki torches in various places and a large tiki bar.

They were seated by a female hostess, who was completely in character with her hula skirt and coconut bra. Everyone got a colorful lei and was handed their menus, “You waiter will be right with you!” she smiled.

“Thank you.” Everyone answered before she walked away.

“I want a coconut cup!” Sebastian smiled,.

“Me too!” Annabelle exclaimed, sitting next to him.

“A what?” Seth asked, still totally amazed by the restaurant.

Gemma smiled, “You’ll see.”

“Hey Bro’s and Sis’!” A friendly voice called, as a young man walked over. He had blonde hair just below his shoulders, and was wearing surf shorts, a tropical button up shirt, and a backwards baseball cap, "I'm Matt, I’ll be your waiter for this evening.”

“Hey Bro!” Sebastian and Annabelle smiled.

“Hey yourself little bro and little sis,” he beamed, “What can I get you little ones to drink tonight?”

“Coconut cups!” They exclaimed.

“Please!” Annabelle added.

“Good choice,” he smiled, scribbling it down on his notepad, “And what are we drinking in those coconut cups?”

“Oh!” Sebastian exclaimed, “A blue surfer slushy!”

“A pink mermaid slushy!” Annabelle replied.

“Ok, got it!” Matt replied, before getting drink orders from everyone else.

Seth had no idea what Dean ordered him, or what his kids had ordered themselves so far. Still totally trying to take in the atmosphere, he couldn’t help the goofy grin on his face. 

“You look like you might float away if I don’t hold on.” Dean murmured into Seth’s ear.

Seth turned to him, “I think so too.”

“Like it here?” Dean asked, already knowing the answer.

“What do you think?” Seth smirked.

“Alright, here we go!” Matt smiled, as he returned to the table. 

Annabelle and Sebastian’s eyes widened when two plastic cups shaped like coconuts were put in front of them. Filled with their favorite slushy’s they both grabbed straws and went to town on them.

“Slow down.” Dean warned.

Annabelle stopped drinking and smiled innocently at him. Dean winked, then joined in with ordering their food.

 

***

After dinner, they made sure to embarrass Roman by letting Matt know it was his birthday. Matt was right on it, bringing out a huge ice cream sundae that was in a bowl shaped like sea shell. He got the entire restaurant to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ along with him and the staff.

Seth was pretty sure he had never seen Roman turn so many shades of red before. After he blew out his candles, he made it known with a smile that he’d “get them all” for the embarrassment.

***

“Where are we going?” Seth asked.

They had just put the kids to bed, and Dean was tugging Seth through the kitchen to the back door, “I said we’d go back, remember?” he asked with a smile.

Seth grinned back, walking out on the deck with him. Dean scooped up one of the beach blankets that had been left there, and headed for the stairs. 

They held hands while they walked in the sand, the moon lighting up the sky and reflecting off of the waves. Dean put the blanket on the sand and sat down, pulling Seth down with him. It was like reflex as if they were at home on the couch. Seth ended up in Dean’s lap, both of them facing the water while Dean kept his arms around Seth’s waist.

“This is unreal.” Seth smiled, leaning his head back into Dean’s shoulder.

Dean gave him a small kiss on his neck, “I knew that you would love it.”

“Tatum, what are you doing?” Roman asked, when he saw his daughter peaking out of the kitchen window.

With a smile, she turned to her dad, “Being nosy.”

It took Roman a second to realize what she meant and he scoffed, “At least do it right.” 

“Huh?” She asked.

Roman went into one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a pair of binoculars. Tatum immediately burst into laughter as Roman walked over to the window and started spying on Seth and Dean with his daughter.

“It’s too cute,” Tatum smiled, “So cute.”

Roman handed his daughter the binoculars and chuckled, “Yeah, it’s something.”

“Dad?” she asked.

“Hmm?” 

“When was the last time you saw Uncle Dean this happy?” she asked.

Roman thought for a minute and then replied, “I don’t think I ever have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's the beach so far? Feedback always welcome and appreciated. More to come from the beach in the next chapter!


End file.
